Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth or Karaka Chaturthi is a Hindu festival celebrated by Hindu women of Northern and Western India in October or November on the Hindu lunar month of Kartika. Like many Hindu festivals, Karva Chauth is based on a lunisolar variant of the Hindu Calendars.
Understanding and Celebrating Karwa Chauth
As we continue to embrace the diversity and rich cultural traditions within our team, it's a pleasure to share insights into a significant festival that some of our colleagues observe. Rebecca Eccles, an NHS111 Health Advisor at our Oldbury base, has kindly shared her personal experience and thoughts on the Indian festival of Karwa Chauth.
"Karwa Chauth is an Indian festival predominantly celebrated in the North of India," Rebecca explains. "This festival is celebrated among married women, where they fast all day, without even water, for their husbands' long lives. However, with times changing, you will now find husbands keeping fasts for their wives or simply staying hungry because the wife hasn’t eaten! This bond shows their devotion, commitment, love, understanding, and respect for each other." 
Describing the celebration, Rebecca shares, "Married women get up early, have a shower, and eat sargi—a plate prepared by their mother-in-law, which consists of dry or fresh fruits, coconut, plain water, and lightly cooked food. During the day, they get ready; most will go to a beauty salon to get glammed up, and others may apply henna to their hands. In the evening, prayers are done, and they await the moon’s sighting. As soon as the moon is seen, the married women look through a sieve at the moon and then at their husbands' faces. The husband feeds her the first morsel of food and gives her the first sip of water."
For Rebecca, Karwa Chauth holds deep personal significance. "It gives me a moment every year to capture how my husband and my year has gone by. It gives me a moment to realise the blessings in my life, to stop and be thankful for the marriage we hold. Yes, recently we have had our ups and downs, but at the end of the day, which married couple doesn’t? So, if you’re sitting next to your partner, make sure they also know how lucky you feel to have them, just like I do."