Ganesh Chaturthi (गणेश चतुर्थी) is a festival honoring Ganesh (गणेश). Ganesh is the son of Lord Shiva (शिव) and his consort Parvati (पार्वती). Ganesh is usually depicted as having the head of an elephant. Ganesh is beloved by people all over India, because he is thought to be the remover of all obstacles. Therefore, having a man made figure of Ganesh in your home is considered good luck. In large cities, there are street processions with the figure of Ganesh. In the procession, there are drummers and people dancing with joy.

The procession will walk until the nearest body of water. Then Ganesh will be immersed in the water. This immersion symbolizes the cycle of life and death. In Indian culture, water has symbolic and divine qualities. When Ganesh is immersed in the water, it’s thought that Ganesh will return to a pure state of the Earth.