Today, Indian women across the world celebrate Karva Chauth, a Hindu festival exclusively for married or betrothed couples.
The day of Karva Chauth, married women would take a day-long fast with no food or water. In the evening, there is a community women-only ritual where hymns and prayers are chanted to cleanse sins and to protect the husbands from danger.
The women are dressed in their finest clothes and get henna designs on their hands and feet. When the moon rises, they look indirectly at the moon through a sieve or as a reflection in water kept in a vessel. The woman then looks at her husband through the same sieve or reflective vessel. The husbands then proceed to feed their wives the first sip of water and first morsel of the day to break the fast. This is the only part where men participate in the rituals.
It is believed that in the combination of the fast, prayers and the blessings of the lunar deity, the woman has the power to confront and defeat death for her husband. This festival is considered very important for women in north India and any anomaly is associated with danger to the husband.