Ganesh Chaturthi - the birth anniversary of Lord Ganeshji, is celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi. This festival comes on the 4th day of Bhadarva Shukla-Paksh of the Hindu calendar in (August/September). A special sweet dish called Modak, other sweets and milk is offered to idols of Lord Ganeshji at home and in temples, and worshippers visit Ganesh temples to perform Ganesh Puja. Elaborate arrangements are made for lighting and decoration in almost every house and in different areas of towns and villages. The festival is celebrated for about 7-11 days. On the day of the Chaturthi, i.e. the last day dedicated to the elephant headed god, shrines are erected, firecrackers let off, huge images of Ganeshji are carried in grand procession for 'Ganesh Visarjan' accompanied by the sound of devotional songs and drums.The festival was first started by Shivaji, the great Maratha ruler, to promote culture and nationalism, and then it was next revived by freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak , as he started the custom of 'Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav' (public festival) in Maharashtra, during the Indian Independence movement. The aim behind this was to bring people close to each other and to create awareness against the British Rule.Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated all over India and in many foreign countries. Here we have provided some of the recepies that you can enjoy and cherish on the day of Ganesh Chaturti.
