Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival in the Hindu calendar that lasts for 10 days. It starts at the end of August and ends in the first week of September, and it takes place every year.
As the name of the festival indicates, Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that celebrates the birthday of Hindu god Ganesha. Ganesha is recognizable instantly as the elephant headed God of Hinduism.
We celebrate this annual festival in India because Ganesh is a very important deity in Hinduism. He is a god of many significant aspects of our life, including wisdom and education. Ganesha is the god of success and one who has the ability to destroy all obstacles. Ganesha is also known as the remover of obstacles and so on this festival we also celebrate his ability to remove both physical and psychological obstacles from our lives – and spiritual obstacles too.
Ganesh Chaturthi is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, because Vinayaka is another name for Ganesha. Another name for this festival is Ganesh Utsav, which can be translated as ‘a joyful celebration of Lord Ganesha’. Other names of his include Ganapati and Binayak.