Ganesh Festival

This is a story I heard in my childhood. This is a story from Indian mythology that highlights the importance of honoring one's parents. Shiva and Parvati had two children. One was karthikeyan I think and the other was Ganapati. Shiva said to both of them whoever circumnavigates the world fast and reaches back here first will get a reward. Karthikeyan immediately set out on his peacock to circumnavigate the world. Ganapati told his father and mother to stand in one place. He then walked around them a few times. Then he said to Shiva and Parvati I am done. I have circumnavigated the world. Shiva and Parvati said let's wait for karthikeyan. Karthikeyan reached back after circumnavigating the world. Shiva and Parvati said the reward goes to ganpati since he circumnavigated the world first. Karthikeyan was very sad. He had taken all the trouble to circumnavigate the world. How did you reach back so fast, he asked Ganpati. My world is my parents. So I walked around them a few times. So Ganapati got the reward. This is probably why Ganesh is considered the God of honoring parents. This festival is celebrated by hindus a lot. During my early childhood, myself my older brother and parents lived in a suburb of the Indian state of Maharashtra. There I would see this festival celebrated widely. The statue of Ganesh is taken in processions amidst chants of Ganapathy Bappa Morya. Then two people can hold their hands in such a way that a Ganesh statue can be placed on the hands and they go in a procession and put the statue in the river or ocean. If you would like to see how this is celebrated you can check the internet for bollywood celebs celebrating this festival. I loved the saree worn by Ananya Pandey for the Ganesh festival in 2024 and the salwar kameez Ananya Pandey wore for the same festival in 2023. I hope you have a lovely day!