This Diwali festival Gujarati New Year falls on November 16 today. As per the Hindu calendar, it falls on Shukla Paksha Pratipada. Gujarati New Year is also called Bestu Varas.
People wish Saal Mubarak to each other on this auspicious day.
People go to temple in the morning perform puja at home, seek blessings of elders. They rise early in the morning, housewives clean their house, students start reading their books with a resolution to do well in studies. Some shopkeepers, businessmen keep their shops/offices open for few hours in morning. It is the beginning of Gujarati Vikram Samvat 2077.
Gujarati New Year is an extremely important day for the Gujarati community. It is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and fervor. This is also that time of the year when businessmen and traders close old account books and start new account books. This is called Chopda pujan in Gujarati culture. Chopda Puja is also performed, which is the worshipping of Chopda books of accounts. This ritual is practiced in the presence of Goddess Lakshmi. It is believed that this helps in making the new year more profitable.
