Dussera Navrathri celebrations
Dussera festival is a nine days festival with name Navrathri. Navrathri is a nine days and nine nights festival begins on the first day of Ashwina of the bright fortnight dedicated to Mother Goddess Shakti. The word “Nava” means Nine and “Ratri” means, Night, which is celebrated through out India, for 9 days. During Navrathri celebrations people fasts, do japa and recitation of religious hymns, prayer, meditation related to Goddess Durga.
All these nine days each goddess is worshiped for three days and Devi Durga will be dressed and prayed in different forms. During the first three days of Navratri festival Goddess Durga is dressed is dressed in red and mounted on a lion. Her various incarnations – Kumari, Parvati and Kali – are worshipped during these days who represent the three different classes of womanhood as a child, the young girl and the mature woman.
The next three days are worshipped to Goddess Lakshmi who is the goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. During these three days of Navrathri Goddess Lakshmi is dressed in gold and mounted on an owl.
And the last three Goddess Saraswati who is Goddess of Knowledge is worshipped. During these days Goddess Saraswati is dressed in milky white and mounted on a pure white swan.
Navratri festival is celebrated related to Goddess Shakti in her various forms as :
Shailaputri
Bharmacharini
Chandra Ghanta
Kushmanda
Skanda Mata
Katyayani
Kaal Ratri
Maha Gauri
Siddhidatri
Navrathri is celebrated differently in India. In south people celebrate Navaratri pooja in their homes for nine days placed by Golu where idols and dolls will be placed in the steps made, with themes of decorations. Every night, people from neighborhood and friends will visit each others homes and sing devotional songs. At the end of the prasadam of Devi Durga is distributed.
In north, Navaratri is celebrated with garba and dandiya raas dances during nine nights of navarathri dressed up in colorful clothes, small, decorated sticks called dandiyas used in the dandiya raas.