Hate Khori: a ceremony to introduce education to children
Vasant Panchami or Saraswati puja is a festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu god of knowledge, art, music and learning. She is the daughter of Durga and is considered to be a partner of Brahma. This is the most popular festival in the eastern region and is celebrated in the month of Magh (January-February) where young children and students invoke the blessings of the Goddess. The Goddess is presented as an elegant woman dressed in white, dressed in a white silk sari, sitting on a white lotus and representing purity and peace. The lotus and moon associated with her are both symbols of eternal femininity.
mythological story
There are various mythological stories associated with Goddess Saraswati. Both the gods and the demons decided to churn the ocean and drink the Amrit or the elixir of life. Saraswati with her beauty decided to attract the asuras, but Rahu and Ketu sneaked in with the Gods. Vishnu detected them and cut off their heads. Saraswati helped the Gods to become immortal and settled in the heavens.
Hate Khori celebration in West Bengal
Saraswati puja holds a special place in Bengali culture and almost every educational organization and even at home this puja is performed. On this day, the devotees bathe early in the morning and wear new clothes and adorn the deity with white clothes and flowers as it is believed to be her favorite color. The sweets used in Prasad are also made from milk and white sesame seeds or even laddos are offered. Yellow flowers or marigolds are offered to the goddess.
Hate Khori is a popular celebration in West Bengal in which young children of three or four years old are forced to perform a ritual of writing the first letters of the alphabet. They are forced to take a bath after using turmeric paste and then little boys are forced to wear Dhoti and Kurta and girls are forced to wear Sari, especially yellow in color. New black boards, chalk and books and copies are purchased for the Hate Khori ceremony and the pundit performs the ritual. Little children are made to sit on the lap of the pundit who takes their hands and makes them write the first letters mainly, OM or A, B, C and some Bengali alphabets like “Ka”, “Kh-a”.
To perform this Hate Khori ritual, people usually go to the nearby temples where the pundit performs the ritual or arrange at home where the pundit or Brahmin comes and performs the Saraswati puja and Hate Khori ritual. Since the puja has special significance among Bengalis and is considered an auspicious day to start anything related to learning, people try to introduce young children to the world of education on that special day.
Formal education begins from this day and children seek the blessings of the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The young women wear yellow sari and offer pushpanjali to the god. Palash flowers, Khichuri, mixed greens and Kul chutney are some of the special dishes prepared during this celebration.