Maha Shivaratri

 

Maha Shivaratri, (Sanskrit: "Great Night of Shiva") is being celebrated this year on 8 March.

Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - waning) of the lunar month of Phalguna. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava.

It is a notable festival in Hinduism, marking a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as honesty, non-injury to others, charity, forgiveness, and the discovery of Shiva. Ardent devotees stay awake throughout the night. Others visit one of the Shiva temples or go on a pilgrimage to the Jyotirlingams. The festival is believed to have originated in 5th century BCE.

In Kashmir Shaivism, the festival is called Har-ratri or phonetically simpler Haerath or Herath by Shiva devotees of the Kashmir region.