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Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi / Chavithi is the festival that reveres god Ganesha. A ten-day festival, it starts on the fourth day of Hindu luni-solar calendar month of Bhadrapada, which typically falls in the months of August / September. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha clay idols privately in homes, or publicly on elaborate pandals (temporary stages). Observations include chanting of Vedic hymns and Hindu texts such as Ganapati Upanishad, prayers and vrata (fasting). Offerings and prasadam from the daily prayers, that is distributed from the pandal to the community, include sweets such as modaka believed to be a favorite of the elephant-headed deity. The festival ends on the tenth day after start, wherein the idol is carried in a public procession with music and group chanting, then immersed in a nearby body of water such as a river or ocean.
The festival celebrates Lord Ganesha as the God of New Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles as well as the god of wisdom and intelligence and is observed throughout India.
Ganesh Nimajjan will be conducted on September 19th at 6:00 PM and will be open for sponsors only due to the pandemic restrictions with the number of people gathering at the same place.
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