October 30: The setting sun will be worshiped this evening as part of the Chhath festival. Most of the ponds, lakes, streams and rivers in Terai Madhes including Janakpurdham have been cleaned up and decorated as worshipping sites.    
The banks of Ganga Sagar, the main pond of Janakpurdham sub-metropolitan city, have been decorated and preparations for the rituals have been completed. Local youth clubs have set up tents for the Chhath Pooja. In addition to Ganga Sagar, the Dhanush Sagar, Angraj Sar, Dasharath Lake, Janaki Sarovar, Gordhoi, Agnikunda have been decorated by local youth clubs in Janakpurdham.    
The army and the police have also supported the cleaning of the ponds and lakes used as a place of worship. Bhojpuri and Maithili songs glorifying Chhathimaiya are found buzzing all around the sites and in the market places.    
Chhath is also considered as one of the major festivals for the people of Mithila region. Preparations for Chhath festival start from a week before. This festival starts on the fourth day of the waxing moon in the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and ends on the seventh day as per the lunar calendar, says Pandit Ramkumar Shastri.    
Sun god is especially worshiped during this festival. It is believed that the tradition of worshipping the sun in Hinduism has existed since the Vedic period. This festival is celebrated by all sections of the society together.    
During the Chhath festival, fasting women and men take a bath and wear clean clothes and eat vegetarian food. In the evening, rice pudding is made in a new oven made of clay.    
According to Pandit Shastri, rice pudding made with molasses is offered to the gods and goddesses and then accepted by the fasting person and other members of the family.    
Women offer argha to the setting sun, while men stand on the banks of the ponds and river with coconuts or other fruits in their hands. Traditionally, all the members of the family fasting usually stay awake at the bank of the pond throughout the night.    
This year, the worshippers have been hit hard as the prices of goods used in Chhath have skyrocketed. Prices of bananas, coconuts, sugarcane, radish, lemons, apples, oranges, molasses, as well as bamboo items used during the Chhath festival have increased of late. -- RSS