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'''Karwa Chauth''' is a festival celebrated by [[Hindu]] women from the [[Indian Subcontinent]] on the fourth day after Purnima (a [[full moon]]) in the month of [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]]. Like many Hindu festivals, Karwa Chauth is based on the [[lunisolar calendar]] which accounts for all astronomical positions, especially positions of the moon which is used as a marker to calculate important dates. The festival falls on the fourth day after the [[full moon]], in the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu lunisolar calendar]] month of [[Kartika (month)|Kartik]].<ref name="ref01zohah">{{Citation|author=Sohindar Singh Waṇajara Bedi|title=Folklore of the Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV8tAAAAMAAJ|publisher=National Book Trust|quote=... Sometimes even unmarried girls observe this fast and pray for their wife-to-be ...|year=1971}}</ref> | '''Karwa Chauth''' is a festival celebrated by [[Hindu]] women from the [[Indian Subcontinent]] on the fourth day after Purnima (a [[full moon]]) in the month of [[Kartika (month)|Kartika]]. Like many Hindu festivals, Karwa Chauth is based on the [[lunisolar calendar]] which accounts for all astronomical positions, especially positions of the moon which is used as a marker to calculate important dates. The festival falls on the fourth day after the [[full moon]], in the [[Hindu calendar|Hindu lunisolar calendar]] month of [[Kartika (month)|Kartik]].<ref name="ref01zohah">{{Citation|author=Sohindar Singh Waṇajara Bedi|title=Folklore of the Punjab|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV8tAAAAMAAJ|publisher=National Book Trust|quote=... Sometimes even unmarried girls observe this fast and pray for their wife-to-be ...|year=1971}}</ref> | ||
On Karwa Chauth, married women, especially in [[North India]], observe [[Fasting|fast]] from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.<ref name="ref25lojir">{{Citation | title=Let's Know Festivals of India | author=Kartar Singh Bhalla | publisher=Star Publications|year= 2005 | isbn=978-81-7650-165-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WORYY5Vl0ygC | quote=''... 'Karwa Chauth' is a ritual of fasting celebrated by married women seeking the longevity, ... married women in the northern and western parts of India, especially Delhi, Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajashtan, Punjab,Jammu and western Uttar Pradesh ... eat a little food before sunrise and start the fast ... After the moon rises ... finally break their fast ...'' }}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref name="ref32laqul">{{Citation | title= women in England: their religious and cultural beliefs and social practices | author=S. K. Rait | publisher=Trentham Books|year= 2005 | isbn=978-1-85856-353-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRfkTq1ykSIC | quote=... Karwa chauth, a fast kept to secure the long life of husbands, was popular among women ... }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.daily.pk/hindus-mark-Karva-chauth-in-pakistan-6625/ | work=Pakistan Daily | title=Hindus mark Karwa Chauth in Pakistan | date=2008-10-17 | quote=... Hindu women Friday celebrated Karwa Chauth in the city. The minority arranges different functions in the city to mark the day where women collectively sighted the moon and broke their fast ... }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Karwa Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[ | On Karwa Chauth, married women, especially in [[North India]], observe [[Fasting|fast]] from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands.<ref name="ref25lojir">{{Citation | title=Let's Know Festivals of India | author=Kartar Singh Bhalla | publisher=Star Publications|year= 2005 | isbn=978-81-7650-165-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WORYY5Vl0ygC | quote=''... 'Karwa Chauth' is a ritual of fasting celebrated by married women seeking the longevity, ... married women in the northern and western parts of India, especially Delhi, Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajashtan, Punjab,Jammu and western Uttar Pradesh ... eat a little food before sunrise and start the fast ... After the moon rises ... finally break their fast ...'' }}{{page needed|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref name="ref32laqul">{{Citation | title= women in England: their religious and cultural beliefs and social practices | author=S. K. Rait | publisher=Trentham Books|year= 2005 | isbn=978-1-85856-353-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRfkTq1ykSIC | quote=... Karwa chauth, a fast kept to secure the long life of husbands, was popular among women ... }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.daily.pk/hindus-mark-Karva-chauth-in-pakistan-6625/ | work=Pakistan Daily | title=Hindus mark Karwa Chauth in Pakistan | date=2008-10-17 | quote=... Hindu women Friday celebrated Karwa Chauth in the city. The minority arranges different functions in the city to mark the day where women collectively sighted the moon and broke their fast ... }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The Karwa Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of [[Delhi]], [[Haryana]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]], [[Himachal Pradesh]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name="ref25lojir" /><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101601513.html | work=The Washington Post | title=A Hungry Heart | first=Anu | last=Kumar | date=2007-10-21}}</ref><ref name="ref58cebuc">{{Citation | title=Crafts of Himachal PradeshLiving traditions of India | author=Subhashini Aryan | publisher=Mapin | isbn=978-0-944142-46-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bkfrAAAAMAAJ | quote=... Karwa Chauth, when all married women universally fast a small pot, Karwa, is required ...| year=1993 }}</ref><ref name="ref64ruxax">{{Citation | title=Because it gives me peace of mind: ritual fasts in the religious lives of Hindu women (McGill studies in the history of religions) | author=Anne Mackenzie Pearson | publisher=SUNY Press | isbn=978-0-7914-3038-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=na-x4ahfXaQC | quote=... Karwa Cauth seems to be in western Uttar Pradesh ...| date=1996}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-10-09|title=बिहार की महिलाओं ने ऐसे मनाया करवा चौथ, मांगी पति की लंबी उम्र|url=https://www.bhaskar.com/BIH-PAT-HMU-bihar-women-celebrated-karva-chauth-5715870-PHO.html/|access-date=2021-08-15|website=Dainik Bhaskar|language=hi}}</ref>It is celebrated as [[Atla Tadde]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]]. | ||
<!--Origins and Popular Culture of Karwa Chauth <ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/chandigarh/karva-chauth-karva-chauth-2017-auspicious-time-of-karwa-chauth-puja|title = Karwa Chauth|website = [[Amar Ujala]]}}</ref>--> | <!--Origins and Popular Culture of Karwa Chauth <ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/chandigarh/karva-chauth-karva-chauth-2017-auspicious-time-of-karwa-chauth-puja|title = Karwa Chauth|website = [[Amar Ujala]]}}</ref>--> | ||
==Etymology and origins== | ==Etymology and origins== | ||
''Karva'' is another word for '[[Pottery|pot]]' (a small earthen pot of water) and ''chauth'' means 'fourth' in [[]] (a reference to the fact that the festival falls on the fourth day of the dark-fortnight, or ''Krishna [[paksha|paksh]]'', of the month of ''Kartik'').<ref name="ref31vefox">{{Citation | title=Rural Sociology | author=Rajendra Kumar Sharma | publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year= 2004 | isbn=978-81-7156-671-6 | url=https://earth.google.com | quote="... small earthen-ware pots called 'deep' being filled with oil and lighted through a wick ..."| orig-year=1997 }}</ref> The festival originated and came to be celebrated only in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, including cities of [[Lahore]], [[Multan]]. Karwa Chauth is mostly celebrated in Northern India. One hypothesis is that military campaigns were often conducted by men in far off places whereby men would leave their wives and children at home to go off to the war. Their wives would often pray for their safe return. The festival also coincides with the wheat-sowing time (i.e., the beginning of the [[Rabi crop]] cycle). Big earthen pots in which wheat is stored are sometimes called ''Karwas'', so the fast may have begun as a prayer for a good harvest in this predominantly wheat-eating Northwestern region.<ref name="ref33fabuf">{{Citation |title = History of Ancient India: From 7300 BC to 4250 BC|author = J.P. Mittal|publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|isbn = 978-81-269-0615-4|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=b7gOBW8oDFgC|quote = ... military campaigns and foreign travels were undertaken after the rainy season ... It is also the season for sowing wheat, which is kept in the Karwa (Round Vessel) ...|year = 2006}}</ref> | ''Karva'' is another word for '[[Pottery|pot]]' (a small earthen pot of water) and ''chauth'' means 'fourth' in [[]] (a reference to the fact that the festival falls on the fourth day of the dark-fortnight, or ''Krishna [[paksha|paksh]]'', of the month of ''Kartik'').<ref name="ref31vefox">{{Citation | title=Rural Sociology | author=Rajendra Kumar Sharma | publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year= 2004 | isbn=978-81-7156-671-6 | url=https://earth.google.com | quote="... small earthen-ware pots called 'deep' being filled with oil and lighted through a wick ..."| orig-year=1997 }}</ref> The festival originated and came to be celebrated only in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, including cities of [[Lahore]], [[Multan]]. Karwa Chauth is mostly celebrated in Northern India. One hypothesis is that military campaigns were often conducted by men in far off places whereby men would leave their wives and children at home to go off to the war. Their wives would often pray for their safe return. The festival also coincides with the wheat-sowing time (i.e., the beginning of the [[Rabi crop]] cycle). Big earthen pots in which wheat is stored are sometimes called ''Karwas'', so the fast may have begun as a prayer for a good harvest in this predominantly wheat-eating Northwestern region.<ref name="ref33fabuf">{{Citation |title = History of Ancient India: From 7300 BC to 4250 BC|author = J.P. Mittal|publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|isbn = 978-81-269-0615-4|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=b7gOBW8oDFgC|quote = ... military campaigns and foreign travels were undertaken after the rainy season ... It is also the season for sowing wheat, which is kept in the Karwa (Round Vessel) ...|year = 2006}}</ref> | ||
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Thanks to the [[Bollywood]], Karwa Chauth isn't limited to be a North Indian or [[Punjabis|Punjabi]] festival anymore. It is now glamorized and widely popular function in India. Some married women and a brides-to-be in other regions also want to look their best on this day when they fast for the well-being of their husbands. The evening is the time when the drudgery of fast starts wearing off and the enthusiasm and expectation of golden moments show on their faces.<ref>[https://www.bharatsthali.com/blog/karwachauth-special-sarees-look-your-best/ Karwa chauth Traditional Look] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626075414/https://www.bharatsthali.com/blog/karwachauth-special-sarees-look-your-best/ |date=26 June 2018 }}</ref> | Thanks to the [[Bollywood]], Karwa Chauth isn't limited to be a North Indian or [[Punjabis|Punjabi]] festival anymore. It is now glamorized and widely popular function in India. Some married women and a brides-to-be in other regions also want to look their best on this day when they fast for the well-being of their husbands. The evening is the time when the drudgery of fast starts wearing off and the enthusiasm and expectation of golden moments show on their faces.<ref>[https://www.bharatsthali.com/blog/karwachauth-special-sarees-look-your-best/ Karwa chauth Traditional Look] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626075414/https://www.bharatsthali.com/blog/karwachauth-special-sarees-look-your-best/ |date=26 June 2018 }}</ref> | ||
Since ''Karwa Chauth'' is celebrated primarily by women (men are entirely excluded from the festival's observances until moonrise, though they are expected to demonstrate attention and concern for their fasting wives) and because beauty rituals and dressing-up are a significant part of the day, the festival is seen as an event that bonds women together.<ref name="webdunia2009gqw">{{Citation | title=करवा चौथ का श्रृंगार (Beauty treatments for Karwa Chauth) | date=7 October 2009 | author=Naynika Mehra | newspaper=Webdunia Hindi | url=http://hindi.webdunia.com/miscellaneous/woman/articles/0910/07/1091007022_1.htm | quote=''... सुंदर और आकर्षक कपड़ों-गहनों के साथ ही श्रृंगार का भी उत्सवों पर एक अलग ही आनंद आ जाता है। उस पर भी यदि बात करवा चौथ जैसे त्योहार की हो तो बनने-सँवरने का उत्साह चरम पर पहुँच जाता है। हर महिला इस दिन कुछ अलग दिखना चाहती है। आइए हम देते हैं कुछ टिप्स इस करवा चौथ पर ताकि आप दिखें सबसे खास। (Beautiful and attractive jewelry and clothes, along with make-up, are so enjoyable on festivals. On top of that if it's a festival like Karwa Chauth, the zest to beautify oneself reaches its zenith. Any woman wants to look striking on this day. Come, let us share some tips, so you can look the most special of them all ...''}}</ref> In the present day, groups of unmarried women sometimes keep the fast out of a sense of friendship, though this practice is far from universal.<ref name="ibnlive2009hdb">{{Citation | title=कुंआरी लड़कियां भी रख रही हैं करवाचौथ व्रत (Unmarried women are also keeping the Karwa Chauth fast) | date=6 October 2009 | newspaper=IBN Live | url=http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/20955/11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713023148/http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/20955/11 | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 July 2011 | quote=''... 'मुझे करवाचौथ का व्रत रखना बहुत पसंद है। मेरी सहेलियां भी व्रत रखती हैं इसलिए मैं भी व्रत रखती हूं ताकि मुझे ऐसा वर मिले जो मेरे साथ कदम से कदम मिलाकर चले।' ... धीरे-धीरे ये चलन बड़े शहरों में भी देखने को मिल रहा है। आखिर कौन नहीं चाहेगा कि उसे बेहद प्यार करने वाला जीवनसाथी मिले। ('I really like keeping the Karwa Chauth fast. My friends fast, so I do as well, so I get a partner who walks side by side with me through life' ... gradually this practice is becoming prevalent in larger cities. After all, who wouldn't want a life-partner who loves them intensely ...''}}</ref> This is especially true in the urban areas of North India and Northwestern India is interpreted as a prayer for a loving husband in the future.<ref name="ibnlive2009hdb"/> Another trend in the northern urban areas is the spreading of the festival's observance to women originating in communities and regions (such as [[ | Since ''Karwa Chauth'' is celebrated primarily by women (men are entirely excluded from the festival's observances until moonrise, though they are expected to demonstrate attention and concern for their fasting wives) and because beauty rituals and dressing-up are a significant part of the day, the festival is seen as an event that bonds women together.<ref name="webdunia2009gqw">{{Citation | title=करवा चौथ का श्रृंगार (Beauty treatments for Karwa Chauth) | date=7 October 2009 | author=Naynika Mehra | newspaper=Webdunia Hindi | url=http://hindi.webdunia.com/miscellaneous/woman/articles/0910/07/1091007022_1.htm | quote=''... सुंदर और आकर्षक कपड़ों-गहनों के साथ ही श्रृंगार का भी उत्सवों पर एक अलग ही आनंद आ जाता है। उस पर भी यदि बात करवा चौथ जैसे त्योहार की हो तो बनने-सँवरने का उत्साह चरम पर पहुँच जाता है। हर महिला इस दिन कुछ अलग दिखना चाहती है। आइए हम देते हैं कुछ टिप्स इस करवा चौथ पर ताकि आप दिखें सबसे खास। (Beautiful and attractive jewelry and clothes, along with make-up, are so enjoyable on festivals. On top of that if it's a festival like Karwa Chauth, the zest to beautify oneself reaches its zenith. Any woman wants to look striking on this day. Come, let us share some tips, so you can look the most special of them all ...''}}</ref> In the present day, groups of unmarried women sometimes keep the fast out of a sense of friendship, though this practice is far from universal.<ref name="ibnlive2009hdb">{{Citation | title=कुंआरी लड़कियां भी रख रही हैं करवाचौथ व्रत (Unmarried women are also keeping the Karwa Chauth fast) | date=6 October 2009 | newspaper=IBN Live | url=http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/20955/11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713023148/http://khabar.ibnlive.in.com/news/20955/11 | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 July 2011 | quote=''... 'मुझे करवाचौथ का व्रत रखना बहुत पसंद है। मेरी सहेलियां भी व्रत रखती हैं इसलिए मैं भी व्रत रखती हूं ताकि मुझे ऐसा वर मिले जो मेरे साथ कदम से कदम मिलाकर चले।' ... धीरे-धीरे ये चलन बड़े शहरों में भी देखने को मिल रहा है। आखिर कौन नहीं चाहेगा कि उसे बेहद प्यार करने वाला जीवनसाथी मिले। ('I really like keeping the Karwa Chauth fast. My friends fast, so I do as well, so I get a partner who walks side by side with me through life' ... gradually this practice is becoming prevalent in larger cities. After all, who wouldn't want a life-partner who loves them intensely ...''}}</ref> This is especially true in the urban areas of North India and Northwestern India is interpreted as a prayer for a loving husband in the future.<ref name="ibnlive2009hdb"/> Another trend in the northern urban areas is the spreading of the festival's observance to few women originating in communities and regions (such as immigrants in [[Mumbai]], [[Garhwal division|Garhwal]] ) that have not traditionally celebrated ''Karwa Chauth'' or even been aware of the festival's existence.<ref name="ref72zuyax"/> The same is true for [[Gujarat]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Karva-Chauth-comes-to-Gujarat/articleshow/3605993.cms | newspaper=The Times of India | title=Karva Chauth comes to Gujarat | first=Ankur | last=Jain | date=17 October 2008 | access-date=22 February 2020}}</ref> <small>''Karwa Chauth 2018 Date 27 October''</small> | ||
There have been calls to modify or eliminate the festival by commentators who hold it to be "anti-women" and to "perpetuate the notion of women's dependence on men."<ref name="ref83lorix">{{Citation | title=Kurukshetra, Volume 38 | author=Community Projects Administration | publisher=Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation, Government of India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZODSAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... weed out anti-women and sexist contents from all those media ... We should modify old festivals like Karwa Chauth, Raksha Bandhan, which perpetuate the notion of women's dependence on men ...''| year=1989 }}</ref> ''Karwa chauth'' has been cited as a symbol of cultural repression of women by some Indian [[feminism|feminists]], such as [[Madhu Kishwar]] who has put it in the same class as "Khomeinivad" (i.e., pushing women into position of subservience to their husbands, similar to the family structure allegedly favored by [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]]).<ref name="ref65jocey">{{Citation | title=Off the beaten track: rethinking gender justice for Indian women | author=Madhu Kishwar | publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-564816-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OC0qAAAAYAAJ | quote=... The home-bred elite can easily bring with it repressive Karwa chauth culture and khomeinivad for women ...| year=1999 }}</ref> Other feminists, however, have called the festival empowering for women because ''Karwa Chauth'' enables them to quit housework completely for the day and expect gifts from their husbands.<ref name="ref98mabub"/> Some writers have asserted that such "rituals work insidiously" to create "an instrument of social control" that oppresses women and that the even greater popularity of ''Karwa Chauth'' among urban, educated participants raises the question of "which is the greater barrier to women's liberation: religion or the market."<ref name="ref72zuyax"/> | There have been calls to modify or eliminate the festival by commentators who hold it to be "anti-women" and to "perpetuate the notion of women's dependence on men."<ref name="ref83lorix">{{Citation | title=Kurukshetra, Volume 38 | author=Community Projects Administration | publisher=Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation, Government of India | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZODSAAAAMAAJ | quote=''... weed out anti-women and sexist contents from all those media ... We should modify old festivals like Karwa Chauth, Raksha Bandhan, which perpetuate the notion of women's dependence on men ...''| year=1989 }}</ref> ''Karwa chauth'' has been cited as a symbol of cultural repression of women by some Indian [[feminism|feminists]], such as [[Madhu Kishwar]] who has put it in the same class as "Khomeinivad" (i.e., pushing women into position of subservience to their husbands, similar to the family structure allegedly favored by [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]]).<ref name="ref65jocey">{{Citation | title=Off the beaten track: rethinking gender justice for Indian women | author=Madhu Kishwar | publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-564816-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OC0qAAAAYAAJ | quote=... The home-bred elite can easily bring with it repressive Karwa chauth culture and khomeinivad for women ...| year=1999 }}</ref> Other feminists, however, have called the festival empowering for women because ''Karwa Chauth'' enables them to quit housework completely for the day and expect gifts from their husbands.<ref name="ref98mabub"/> Some writers have asserted that such "rituals work insidiously" to create "an instrument of social control" that oppresses women and that the even greater popularity of ''Karwa Chauth'' among urban, educated participants raises the question of "which is the greater barrier to women's liberation: religion or the market."<ref name="ref72zuyax"/> | ||