123. The Saraswati Pooja

• English Essay(121-140)
• 5 Years, 7 Months ago
• 98

123. The Saraswati Pooja

123. The Saraswati Pooja

The Saraswati Pooja is one of the popular festivals in Nepal. It is especially celebrated by students, teachers and learners. It is celebrated by the devotees of Goddess Saraswati, who is regarded as the goddess of knowledge, wisdom and learning.

Saraswati Pooja generally falls in Magh or Phalgun on the fifth day of the full moon. This day is also called Shreepanchami. On this day, academic institutions such as schools and colleges are decorated with the idols and pictures of Goddess Saraswati. Students seem eager to manage the Saraswati Pooja. They even collect some money and buy necessary things such as the idol of Saraswati, various types of sweets, fruits and so on.

On the day of Saraswati Pooja, devotees bathe early in the morning. They do not eat nor drink anything until the Pooja is over. Some people worship her at their houses, some go to Saraswati temple to worship her. Students and teachers go to schools and colleges to worship her. At schools and colleges, special preparation is made. Everyone there worships Saraswati, and when the Pooja is over, Prasad (holy food) is distributed. Everyone takes it with great devotion. The idol of her and flowers are taken to sacred rivers or places to see her off ritually for one year.

People believe that starting a new activity on the day of Saraswati Pooja leads to the success of the activity. On the day of Shreepanchami, people start teaching small children. Similarly, seeds of crops are sowed in the field to mark the beginning of farming. Thus the Saraswati Pooja is a symbolic day for starting a good deed in life.

              source : Teacher Guide-10, By CDC