by Krissa Stewart, Library Intern
August 25th, 2017 marks the beginning of the ten day Hindu festival Ganesh Chaturthi, the celebration of the birth of Ganesh. Ganesh is one of the five major gods of Hinduism, revered as the remover of obstacles and easily recognizable by his unique elephant head. Ganesh was molded out of clay and brought to life by his mother Parvati, the goddess of love and devotion. Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten day festival, celebrated with the purchasing of clay idols of Ganesh, continuing for the rest of the days with hymns, prayers, offerings, and ends on the tenth day with the idols being submerged in a nearby body of water, where the clay dissolves to signify Ganesh returning to his parents on Mount Kailasha.
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