Hinduism, Navaratri festival, how to fast?

No meat, no alcohol, and for some Hindus - no onions and garlic...

Dunno abt sex though - I dont get it anyways, navratri or not <sigh>

My friend was wondering actually. Are you Hindu by any chance? I found the same info online but nothing that says anything about sexual relations.

Dunno but....
I dunno about NO SEX during navaratri .... but after navratri the city doctors celebrate .. they get lots n lots of cases of Abortion.

Its a fact.

yeah, i agree with Prince there..."No meat,no alcohol" is recommended - dont think it's a rule though...but I dont know of any Hindu festival that disallows sex.

Different parts of India celebrate Navarathri in different ways. Durga pooja (Worship of the mother godess) is a Bengali specialty. Tamilians put their traditional dolls on display (they arrange it in steps) and women invite their other women friends over to exchange gifts and snacks. Garba and Dandiya are a Gujarati tradition- the dances go on all night...colorful and fun ...

And Mysore city (near Bangalore) gets its name from the Demon Mahishasura, who was killed by Godess Chamundi (a manifestation of Godess Durga) after 9 days of fierce fighting. She killed him on the 10th day (Vijayadashami) - the last day of the Navarathri celebrations. Each region has its own story...these are just the few i know of

Thanks chinmayee_s. I was reading your previous posts, you're Indian correct. Were you born in India or in the U.S.? Did you grow up in India and are you Hindu (or just know alot about the religion)?

Thanks again.

I'm Indian. and yes, I'm Hindu, born in India and I have always lived here - i've traveled to the US and Europe but havent lived there.

Why did you want to know about Navaraathri?

My friend, when she was 7 (17 years ago), over heard her mother once mention it to her father.. possibly before the act. Haha.

I tell my friend that she must have misunderstood or even remembered wrong. Or if she did hear right, that her mother was coming up with an excuse! Haha, you know like "I have a headache," or "i'm too tired," or "it's navaraathri." Hahaha.

Or maybe her mother was fasting in her own way, like thats what she gave up for the 9 days, my friend tells me you're supposed to give up something for that time.

Anyways, I went online to find out because I didn't want her to limit herself from that if there was no reason to. I consider making love something very special and not something that should be limited or restricted if two people feel strongly for each other and want to.

Yes, i think some Hindus practise abstinence during pujas (worship)...

So it's by choice, not forbidden.

I'm no authority on Hinduism, provoko....

But based on my understanding of Hinduism...I understand that these fasts, "no sex" etc are by choice not at all forbidden.
Fasts, performing pujas (worship), going to Durga temple during dussehra - these are all customs, tradition, (probably) decided by the community or family you are born into. You can be a "true" Hindu without ever fasting for God, without ever stepping inside a temple, and without ever performing a religious ritual. There are some popular beliefs and customs - which you may choose to follow, if you like. To each his own - with some ground rules.