![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thenortherngazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Aathon2.jpg\")
According to the legend, Goddess Gaura ,a lower valley girl, who is married to Maheswar or Lord Shiva of high Himalayan, wants to visit her parents in the month of \u2018Bhadon\u2019, when she reaches to her parents, she witnessed no cereals in home amid questioning from villagers that why she came to her parents in the time when there is no crop season.” As neither rabi cereals are left nor khariff crop harvested, she is offered whatever is available in her parents home.”As a repentance for Gaura, who is considered as a daughter of hills, the hill folks started celebrating festival of \u2018Aathon\u2019 with various dishes to offer it to their married daughters, who are specially involved in the celebrations ,” said Pant.<\/p>\n “Gaura(Goddess Parwati) with Maheswar,(Lord Shiva) are Himalayan folk deities and the tradition of their worship is prevalent from pre-Vedic era. The village women venerate the duo as folk deities and seek blessings\u00a0 for good\u00a0 crop, health of their families and pet animals on eighth day of celebration by singing folk lores in their praise,” said Rekha Joshi, a local school principal and orgniser of \u2018Aathon\u2019 festival in Pithoragarh town<\/p>\n Besides at Sor valley region of Pithoragarh district and western part of Nepal, the festival is also celebrated in Gumdesh region of Lohaghat sub- division and\u00a0 villages of Champawat valley of Champawat district.” The veneration of Goddess Gaura is performed\u00a0only in local folk styles of song like Chanchari, Thulkhel, Dhumari, \u00a0Chali and Jhoora, instead of Bhajans or Vedic hymes as done\u00a0 in Vedic culture to worship these goddesses,”said Madan Kaloni, a priest who performed Gaura Pujan at Zindi village of Gumdesh region of Champawat district.<\/p>\n In some villages of Sor valley, the festival of \u2018Hilljatra\u2019 is celebrated on the day when the grass idols of Gaura and Maheswar are immersed in some water body.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018Aathon\u2019 festival celebrated in eastern Kumoan region B.D.Kasniyal Pithoragarh, Aug 24 Thousands of devotees thronged the venues of Aathon festival to pay obeisance to \u2018Gaura \u2013 Maheswar\u2019 \u00a0(Lord Shiva and Parvati) in eastern parts of Kumaon region which is the main cultural festival of this region this week. The festival begins with making of idols …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,91,39,59],"tags":[1432,156,641,160,102],"class_list":["post-3622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-national","category-tourism","category-uttarakhand","tag-aathon-festival","tag-champawat","tag-eastern-kumoan-region","tag-pithoragarh","tag-uttarakhand"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thenortherngazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Aathon3.jpg\")
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