Indian-Americans in US celebrate Chhath Puja

Keeping their family tradition of generations alive, hundreds of Indian-American community members along with their friends and families gathered in the US state of Virginia to worship the Sun God as part of the Hindu festival of Chhath Puja.

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The four-day Chhath Puja began on November 6. During the festival, devotees fast and gather on the banks of rivers and ponds to offer prayers to the Sun God. The members of the community in Virginia celebrated the festival of Chhath with the traditional observance of Kharna on Wednesday.

The Kharna ritual involves devotees fasting from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from even water, to purify themselves physically and spiritually.