Durga Puja 2020 Date: When is Durga Puja in 2020?

Durga Puja 2020 Date in India: Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival that is celebrated with much gusto. It is a ten-day festival during which people offer prayers to Goddess Durga. The festival is held during the Indian calendar month of Ashwin, corresponding to the September-October in the Gregorian calendar. This year, Durga Puja will begin on October 22 and will continue will October 26, 2020.

The festival is preceded by Mahalaya, believed to mark the start of Durga’s journey to her natal home, with her children. The main celebrations, however, begin on the sixth day or Shashti. The festival ends with Vijaya dashami (10th day), and on this day people exchange greetings after the idols are immersed in the river.

Durga Puja is especially popular in West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Tripura and Odisha, apart from Bangladesh and Nepal. On this occasion, big puja pandals are usually constructed based on varying themes. People wear new clothes and visit these pandals. The festival is also marked by performance arts, exchange of gifts, and feasting.

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According to mythology, the festival celebrates the victory of Durga in her battle against the asura named Mahishasura, symbolising the victory of good over evil.

Durga Puja also coincides with Navaratri and Dussehra celebrations observed by other traditions of Hinduism, in which the Ram Lila dance drama is enacted and the effigy of Ravana is burned.