Chhath Puja Festival

NOIDA, INDIA - OCTOBER 29: Hindu devotees offer prayers to the Sun during the Chhath Festival on the banks of Holi river Yamuna on October 29, 2014 in Noida, India. Chhath puja is a major festival of Bihar, which is performed in order to thank Sun for sustaining life on earth. Chhath puja is observed as Surya Shashti, which is the sixth day of the month of Kartik (Hindu lunar calendar). The word Chhath means number six, thus the festival begins on the sixth day of this Hindu month, typically in the month of October or November in the Gregorian calendar. Chhath Puja demands an arduous observance, which requires the worshipers to fast without water for around thirty six hours. (Photo by Burhaan Kinu/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)