Question

describe the most important festival of Bihar

Answer 1

Chhath, also called "Dala Chhath," is an ancient and major festival in Bihar. It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers, called the Chaiti Chhath, and once around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The Karthik Chhath is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and fasting without water for around 42 hours or more, as required for worshippers during Chhath Puja, is easier to do in the Indian winters.

Chhath is the worship of the Sun God. Wherever people from Bihar have migrated, they have taken with them the tradition of Chhath. It is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstinence and a ritual segregation of the worshiper from their main household for four days. On the eve of Chhath, houses and their surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. Then the ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God takes place, performed twice: once in the evening and once at dawn, usually on the banks of a flowing river, or a common large water body. The occasion resembles a carnival. For several days, ritual renditions of regional folk songs are sung. These folk songs have been carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law for generations.

Chhath is believed to have been started by Karna, the king of Anga Desh (the modern Bhagalpur region of Bihar).

Shravani Mela Edit
Shravani Mela is an important month-long ritual observance, held along a 108-kilometre route linking the towns of Sultanganj and Deoghar (now located in the state of Jharkhand.) It is held every year in the Hindu month of Shravan (the lunar month of July–August). Pilgrims, known as Kanwarias, wear saffron-coloured clothes and collect water from a sacred Ghat (river bank) at Sultanganj. They walk the 108 km stretch barefoot to the town of Deoghar to bathe a sacred Shiva-Linga. The observance draws thousands of people from all over India to the town of Deoghar.

Pitri Paksha Mela Edit
This is a 15-day fair held on the bank of River Falgu at Gaya during Pitru Paksha every year. Pilgrims from all parts of India visit Gaya, offering pinda to honor their ancestors. According to estimates from the Bihar Tourism Department, about 500,000 to 750,000 pilgrims arrive in Gaya each year during the Pitri Paksha Mela.[21]

Other festivals Edit
Other local festivals celebrated with fervor in Bihar include:

Teej and Chitragupta Puja
Bihula-Bishari Puja (celebrated in the Anga region of Bihar)
The Sonepur cattle fair, a month-long event starting approximately half a month after Deepwali. Considered the largest cattle fair in Asia, it is held at the junction of the Ganges and Gandak Rivers, in the town of Sonepur. However, new laws governing the sale of animals and prohibiting the trafficking in exotic birds and beasts have adversely impacted the fair's success.
Sama Chakeva
All major festivals and celebrated in India are also celebrated in Bihar. These include holidays celebrated by Indians of various religions. Among them are:

Islam: Eid-ul-Fitr; Eid-ul-Adha (often called Eid-ul-Zuha in the Indian Subcontinent); and Muharram
Christianity: Christmas
Buddhism: Buddha Purnima
Hinduism: Diwali; Saraswati Puja; Holi