Oh! I forgot to add in my previous comment that while wives keep fast in exchange they receive gift from their husbands. It's almost like Raksha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj but yes, in these festivals there is no such long fasting.
In Kerala, Thiruvathira is the festival equivalent to Karva Chauth. It is believed to be the birthday of Lord Shiva that happens on Thiruvathira star, in the Malayalam month Dhanu (December/January), usually a full moon day. This year it happens on December 25. Unmarried women observe fast on this day, abstaining from rice-based food, to get good husband and married women observe fast for the well-being of their husband. Women perform a traditional group dance called Thiruvathira kali on this day accompanied by folk songs about Shiva and Parvati.
I am doing Karva Chauth for many years. I am doing since i was in college. I always think what has attracted me to do fasting and for whom? I don't know, but i do each year and i love it. It is so fascinating to do fast and wait for Moon(Chand) to come outside at night.
Fasting is good for health when it is done in moderation...Many people fast on festival days like Krishna Ashtami and Shivaratri . They take only liquids like water and tender coconut water
Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back, it simply means that you are two steps ahead !!!
Men do not have to fast to get a good wife. Perhaps with more and more girls working and having a choice, soon men will also have to resort to fasting to get a good wife and pray for her long life.
In North India during Makar Sankranti a festival is observed known as Lohri. This relates to Shiva and Parvati too. I am not sure that the couples keep fast or not but at night they lit a fireplace and celebration takes place around it.
Thanks @usha manohar for asking this question and it has no reply but a new trend is beginning and that is many young husbands are keeping fast on that day which is quite a good sign. Bengalis also do not have this festival. I first learnt about this festival from Hindi films and now in Delhi I get to see married women celebrating the festival. Ladies very keenly dress up on this day.
I too know about this festival through hindi films where it is romanticised ..In a film called Shaan, which was shown recently on the TV, the wife played by Rakhee is getting ready to celebrate the festival with her husband ( Sunil Dutt) and hears the news that he has been killed...This is a blog written by twinkle Khanna on Karva Chaut ,who incidentally has become a very humorous writer..
Karva Chouth , a festival of women involves fasting. Fasting has many health benefits. Occasional fasting will help in removing the toxins in the body.
