Durga Puja

Durga Puja
Durga Puja
Also called	Akaal Bodhan
Observed by	Bengalis, Odias, Assamese and Biharis
Type	Hindu
Celebrations	Family and other social gatherings, shopping and gift-giving, feasting, pandal-visiting, lighting decorations, cultural dance, idol immersion etc.
Observances	Ceremonial worship of goddess Durga, temple services
Begins	Sixth day of Ashwin shukla paksha Seventh day of Ashwin shukla paksha (in Bihar)
Ends	Tenth day of Ashwina shukla paksha
2016 date	7 October – 11 October
2017 date	26 September – 30 September
Frequency	annual
Related to	Mahalaya, Navratri, Dussehra

Durga Puja ([d̪urɡa pudʒa], listen:  listen , "Worship of Durga"), also referred to as Dussahara, Durgotsava (Bengali pronunciation: [d̪urɡot̪ʃɔb], listen:  Durgotsava , "Festival of Durga") or Sharadotsav is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijayadashami.

Durga Puja festival is celebrated from the sixth to tenth day of bright lunar fortnight (shukla paksha) in the Bikram Sambat Calendar month of Ashwin. This period falls in the fortnight corresponding to the festival is called Devi Paksha, "Fortnight of the Goddess"). Devi Paksha is preceded by Mahalaya, the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Paksha, "Fortnight of the Forefathers"), and is ended on Kojagori Lokkhi Puja ("Worship of Goddess Lakshmi on Kojagori (full moon night).

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Wikipedia