Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesh, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The festival is also known by the name of Vinayak Chaturthi and generally falls every year in August or September. It is celebrated on the fourth day in bright half of Bhadrapad month, according to Hindi calendar. Ganesh Chturthi celebrations go on for almost five, seven or ten days and is celebrated all over India with great fervor. This festival is the main attraction of Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. This year Ganesh Chaturthi is being celebrated on 23rd August.

Lord Ganesh is considered as the God of wisdom and prosperity. Hindus believe that before the start of some auspicious work they should invoke Lord Ganesh as He fulfills devotees' desires. A number of stories are associated with the birth of Lord Ganesh, the elephant headed God.


Celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi
The ten days long festival is celebrated with full spirits, pomp and show in various parts of the country. Statues and idols of Lord Ganesh are installed in public places and homes on the very first day of the festival. Artisans start making these statues and idols two to three months in advance to meet the demand of devotees. Apart from this elaborate arrangements are made for decorations and lightings, which is followed by daily prayers. Hymens from Rig Veda, Ganpati Atharva Shirsha Upanishad and Narad Puran are chanted throughout the festival.

There is a competition among various localities in putting up the biggest statue of Lord Ganesha and setting up of beautiful pandals. It is a time for the farmers to celebrate, dance, enjoy and make merry apart from worship. A number of other activities are also carried out like blood donations camps, free medical check up camps etc.

On the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi, idols of Lord Ganesh are carried in a huge procession of large number of devotees for immersion in sea, rivers and lakes in various cities. Devotees participate in the procession by indulging themselves in various activities like singing of devotional songs and dancing with drum beats. Modak, a sweet made of rice/wheat flour, jaggery and coconut, is the sweet which is distributed to all the devotees as 'Prasad'. It is believed that Modak was the favourite dish of Lord Ganesha.

Celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi Outside India
This festival is also celebrated by Indians who are settled abroad. Ganesh Chaturthi is famous festival of Hindus residing in United Kingdom, where idols are immersed in Thames river. Ganesh Chaturthi is also a famous festival of Mauritius and is being celebrated with great fervor from the past so many years. Government of Mauritius has attributed Ganesh Chaturthi as the public holiday.


History and Famous Legends
It is said that Ganesh Chaturthi festival was started by the great ruler of Maharashtra, Chatrapati Shivaji, for the promotion of nationalism and culture. During the freedom struggle movement in India, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak revived this festival to spread a message of brotherhood, nationalism and freedom struggle among the Indians against the orders of British government, which had banned public assemblies. This festival played a great role in uniting the Indians for freedom struggle.