India celebrates Maha Shivaratri on 07 March 2016, Monday

Maha Shivaratri is a famous Hindu festival celebrated each year in reverence of Lord Shiva. Shivaratri or Mahashivaratri (Night of Shiva) is a Hindu festival, celebrated all over the country with great enthusiasm. The festival is exclusively dedicated to Lord Shiva who is known by hundreds of names. Maha Shivratri is the day to rejoice and pray to the almighty for wellness. On this day, Hindu people offer prayers to the Lord Shiva and also observe fasting (vrata) throughout the day.

Maha Shivaratri is a popular Hindu festival. It is celebrated every year in reverence of the Lord Shiva. Maha Shivaratri festival is also widely known as 'Shivaratri'. It means the 'Great Night of Shiva'. This auspicious day is believed to be the day of convergence of divine powers of Lord Shiva and Goddess Shakti.

The festival falls every year around 13th night or 14th day in the Krishna Paksha of the of Magh (as per Shalivahana) or Phalgun (as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar. Shivaratri is celebrated on 13th day of Falgun month - the last month of Hindu calendar.

Shivaratri is great festival of convergence of Shiva and Shakti. Chaturdashi Tithi during Krishna Paksha in month of Magha is known as Maha Shivaratri according to South Indian calendar. However according to North Indian calendar Masik Shivaratri in month of Phalguna is known as Maha Shivaratri. In both calendars it is naming convention of lunar month which differs. However both, North Indians and South Indians, celebrate Maha Shivaratri on same day.

Shivaratri means the "great night of Shiva". Shivaratri is the night when Shiva is said to have performed the Tandava Nritya, or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction.Epics claim that Mahadeva married Goddess Parvathi on this day.

The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael leaves, fruits, flowers and incense to Lord Shiva.  Shiva is worshiped in the form of a lingam - a pillar often placed on a receptacle that represents female creative energy. Together it represents the union of organs, and the totality of creation. All through the day the devotees, On this day Shiva devotees observe fast and chant the sacred Panchakshara mantra dedicated to Lord "Om Namah Shivaya".  Shivaratri is also spelled as Shivratri, Shivarathri and Sivaratri.

Vrat Vidhi – One day before Shivaratri Vratam, most likely on Trayodashi, devotees should eat only one time. On Shivaratri day, after finishing morning rituals devotees should take Sankalp (संकल्प) to observe full day fast on Shivaratri and to take food next day. During Sankalp devotees pledge for self-determination throughout the fasting period and seek blessing of Lord Shiva to finish the fast without any interference.

You can see huge crowd of devotees outside the Shiva temples where they come for early morning prayers. The prayers continue throughout the night of Mahashivratri and Lord Shiva’s followers offer coconut, As this is a dark fortnight, devotees light and diyas (a made usually of clay, with wick made of cotton and dipped in ghee) throughout the night. This is signified as a symbol of spiritual manifestation. Mahashivratri is one of the major festivals in India and everybody from kids to old-age people like to participate in one way or the other. Lord Shiva is also known as a ‘Destroyer’ or ‘Transformer’ according to the Hindu religion and he is worshiped not only in India but also in other neighboring countries like Nepal and Sri Lanka.

It is believed that on this day the planetary position in universe evokes the spiritual energies very easily. Religious penances are carried out to gain boons through the practice of medication and yoga. People worships lord Shiva whole day and chants "Om Namah Shiva". Some devotees also perform Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra to seek divine blessings of Lord Shiva

It is celebrated across India and is a holiday in the following states in 2016: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand Uttar Pradesh