Government Declares Additional Public Holiday on Monday for Chhath

The government has announced an extra public holiday on Monday, 16 November for the Chhath festival. This official decision adds to the previously scheduled public holiday on Sunday, 15 November, when the festival takes place this year. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the decision through a notice issued on Friday, 13 November. Devotees observe established traditional practices during the Chhath celebrations, which involve worshipping the setting sun on Sunday evening. Observances continue into the next morning, when worshippers conclude their ritual fasting period by making formal offerings to the rising sun on Monday. Reports differ on the precise nature of the morning offerings, with some descriptions referring to arghya and argha, while another specifies curd. Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary and Spokesperson Anand Prasad Kafle stated that the government granted the extra day off specifically to facilitate the completion of these concluding rituals. The secondary holiday accommodates the full sequence of religious traditions, providing worshippers adequate time to carry out their prayers and finish their fasting rituals across both days.