Jāmāi Ṣaṣṭhī is Bengal's feast day for the son-in-law (jāmāi), kept on the bright Ṣaṣṭhī of Jyeṣṭha. The day belongs to Ṣaṣṭhī Devī, the folk mother-goddess of children and childbirth, and the mother-in-law worships her for the welfare of her daughter's household. Welcoming the daughter's husband with a special meal of fish and summer fruit carries that same prayer into the home. The day is as much social as ritual, a celebration of kinship at the height of the mango season. How the day is fixed: The day is kept when Jyeṣṭha Śukla Ṣaṣṭhī prevails at local sunrise. Keep in mind: Bengali almanacs also call this tithi Araṇya Ṣaṣṭhī. In Tamil reckoning it falls in Vaikāsi or Āni, and in Malayalam reckoning in Iṭavam or Mithunam. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Morning pūjā: The mother-in-law fasts in the morning and worships Ṣaṣṭhī Devī, and the Ṣaṣṭhī Devī Stotram may be recited. Blessing the son-in-law: After the pūjā she fans the son-in-law with a palm-leaf fan, blesses him with paddy and dūrvā grass, and ties a yellow thread on his wrist. The feast and the gifts: The meal features hilsa or prawns, mutton, sweet curd, and ripe mango, jackfruit and lychee. The son-in-law brings a sari and sweets for his mother-in-law. Worth remembering: Skanda Ṣaṣṭhī, the Ṣaṣṭhī vrata for Murugan, is a separate observance. In Sambalpur the same tithi is kept as Śītala Ṣaṣṭhī, the wedding festival of Śiva and Pārvatī, which is also a distinct festival. Many regions have their own ways of honouring a son-in-law, from the Āḍi invitation of a newly married couple in Tamil homes to the Saṅkrānti welcome of a new son-in-law in the Godavari districts. What is cooked and what is given differs from home to home. The best guide is the way one's own elders have kept the day.
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