The Karva Chauth falls on the fourth day of the Kartika month of the Hindu calendar. The ritual of Karva chauth is said to be one of the most blissful festivals in India. It is mostly celebrated in North India. Married Hindu women do Karva chauth, and on this day, they pray for the safety and welfare of their husbands. The festival of karva chauth includes fasting for the whole day. Married women eat food before sunrise. They cannot eat or drink anything after the sunrise. In the evening time, the women listen to the karva chauth katha. The fast is until the rise of the moon and the puja.

How to do Karva Chauth Puja?

The entire karva chauth puja preparation starts before the main event day. The married women buy all the important accessories such as shringar, and other ethnic adornments. There are also pooja items such as Heena, karva, and so on. You can get a karva chauth pooja thali from online sites such as Karvachauth.com.

In the early morning, you can make food and then eat it before sunrise.

In the morning time, there are other festive activities such as the decoration of hands and feet with the help of Heena. Then comes decoration of the puja thali, but you can get one organized karva chauth thali online. In the afternoon period, women gather in one place and arrange everything for the puja. The oldest and the most experienced woman narrates the Karva katha or the legend of Karva chauth.

The essential items of Karva chauth puja are-

A unique mud pot, as it is considered as the symbol of Lord Ganesha
A metal urn that is filled with water
Flowers
Idols of Ambika Gaur Mata, Goddess Durga
Fruits
Mathi
Foodgrains

In the earlier times, the idol of Gaur Mata or Goddess Parvati was constructed with the help of earth and cow dung. But in today's time, it is just an idol of the Goddess that is kept there. Then, all the married women light an earthen lamp in their respective karva chauth thalis while listening to the story of Karva. On the karva chauth pooja thali, there are sindoor, rice, and incense sticks.

During this time, women wear heavy ornaments and bangles. They are all draped in red churnies or saris, or bridal saree, pink saree. They adorn themselves up with all the important symbols of a married woman such as nose pin, bindi, chonp, tika, earrings, bangles, and so on.

When the moon rises, the women see the reflection of the moon in a thali of water through a sieve or dupatta. Then they offer the water to the moon and seeks for the blessing. They pray to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for the safety, longevity of life, and prosperity of their husbands.