The Chhath festival dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity, unique to Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai. This major festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Chhattisgarh. Even in Tamil Nadu, the migrants from the north celebrate Chaat beside the sea beach. However it is not clear why is it needed to be celebrated near sea. Hymns praying to the sun can be found in the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.
It is celebrated twice a year, once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winter (September-November) around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in the Indian winters.
You can now see Chhat puja in kolkata also with a big enthusiasm as chhat in Bihar.
Chhath is also called Chhath Vrat, is the four day festival, it will start from 22nd October 2009. Chhat vrat is undertaken by women mainly. The schedule of Chhath vrat are as follows:
Oct. 22 : Nahai Khai,
Oct. 23 : Kharna,
Oct. 24 :Chhath Sandhya Argh,
Oct. 25 : Chhat puja
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