Kumāra Pūrṇimā is the Odia girls' full moon, kept on Āśvina Pūrṇimā. Unmarried young women fast through the day and wait for the moon to rise. When it does, they offer Candra kākhāru flowers, chhena and chuḍā, and the evening turns to games and play. The day belongs to the kumārīs of the house and to the bright autumn moon. How the day is fixed: Kumāra Pūrṇimā is the civil day on which Āśvina Pūrṇimā prevails at local sunrise. It usually comes in October. Keep in mind: The date follows local sunrise, but the fast is broken only after moonrise that evening. When the Pūrṇimā ends early, the day can differ by one from place to place. 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. The day's fast: Unmarried girls skip the day's meal and wait for the moon to rise before they eat. Offering to the moon: At moonrise the girls offer Candra kākhāru flowers, chhena and chuḍā. Games and play follow the offering. Worth remembering: Kojāgarī Lakṣmī Pūjā is the Bengali observance of the same full moon, and Śarad Pūrṇimā is its wider name. Both are kept as separate festivals from the Odia kumārī day. Each Odia household keeps Kumāra Pūrṇimā in its own way. What is offered to the moon, which games the girls play and how strictly the fast is kept all differ from home to home. The one thread that runs through every house is the kumārīs waiting for the moon. For the details, follow the practice the elders of your own house have kept.
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