For all the posts in this Holidays & Observances series, go here.
Prologue: I have been meaning to write a series about Holidays and Observances that we (my family and friends) follow in both India (my birth country) and USA (my adopted country). This series is dedicated to those. On a side note, perhaps I might witness some of the celebrations from other countries as well that may get their way into this series. š
This festival follows Diwali, the festival of lights, by 15 days and occurs on the full-moon day which was on Nov 27th this year (2023). Followers light lamps all over their house; and also light big lamps with 365 wicks, one for each member of the family which is believed to ward-off all evil energies surrounding one. Puja and feast is offered to Lord Shiva on this day.
This year the festival is more significant as it is on two days – as the full moon day spans two days. In our family we celebrate when the Karthika Nakshatram (=Star) is in the morning. The second significance is that it occurred on Monday this year, the auspicious day for Lord Shiva; an occurrence that occurs once in a decade or so.
Here is a symbol of Om that I made with lamps for this Karthika Pournami.
Galavant Reflections 