If you’re struggling to pick a perfect day for your wedding, you might just want to consider Akshaya Tritiya.
It is a festival day celebrated by Hindus and Jains across the world, and thousands of people tie the knot on this date.
That’s because it’s an auspicious date. It is believed that having a wedding on this day, buying property or investing in jewellery is particularly lucky.
Here’s what else we know about the annual celebration…
This year, Akshaya Tritiya – aka the ‘third day of unending prosperity’ – falls on Wednesday 18 April.
Its date changes each year and is determined by the lunisolar Hindu calendar.
It always falls on the third day of the bright half of Vaisakha month, corresponding to the April/May section of the Gregorian calendar.
The festival’s name translated means third prosperity, joy or success.
Hindus believe it to be the birthday of Vishnu’s sixth incarnation, Parashurama, who destroyed evil warriors on the earth, and for this reason the festival is sometimes also known as Parasurama Jayanti.
Another legend states that the river Ganges descended to earth on this occasion, while a third states that the Veda Vyasa began reciting Hindu epic Mahabharata to Ganesha on Akshayya Tritiya.
Meanwhile in Jainism, the day commemorates the first Tirthankara (spiritual leader), called Rishabhanatha, ending his one-year asceticism by consuming sugarcane juice poured into his cupped hands. The date is also referred to as Varshi Tapa.
Today this festival is celebrated by Jains with fasting and prayer.
Hindus also observe fasting, charity, remembrance of lost loved ones and helping others. But the main events that happen are weddings and the start of new ventures.
Women are supposed to pray for the men that will become their future husbands, before distributing germinating gram (sprouts), fresh fruits and Indian sweets.
Hindus believe the date to be particularly lucky if it falls on a Monday.
Jains who observe the thirteen-month day fasting tradition known as Varshitap finish their Tapasya by drinking sugarcane juice on this date too.
MORE : How old is Piers Morgan, what is his net worth and who is his wife?
MORE : Where is Chris Evans this morning as Sara Cox covers his BBC Radio 2 show again?
Share this with