The Satyanarayan Puja is a Hindu ritual performed before/on/after any major occasion like marriage, house warming, engagement, birth of a child, new job, etc. It is also thought to help bear children to couples trying to start a family.
I'm not going to describe in detail the program of the puja, as wikipedia does a good job at that. Suffice to say that our Satyanarayan ceremony took 3 hours 45 minutes and was filled with action. We had to start several small fires, break several coconuts, add oil/ghee/honey/rice to fire, place various offerings at alters of several gods. I believe that at least seven different gods were invited to participate in our ceremony. I guess that's why it took so long :)
Also, during the Satyanarayan puja several interesting stories are being told. Again, I'm not going to describe them here as they can be found elsewhere.
The only complaint that I would have is that the puja is way too long. Try sitting on the floor with your legs crossed for close to 4h and you will understand why I think so...
I'm not going to describe in detail the program of the puja, as wikipedia does a good job at that. Suffice to say that our Satyanarayan ceremony took 3 hours 45 minutes and was filled with action. We had to start several small fires, break several coconuts, add oil/ghee/honey/rice to fire, place various offerings at alters of several gods. I believe that at least seven different gods were invited to participate in our ceremony. I guess that's why it took so long :)
Also, during the Satyanarayan puja several interesting stories are being told. Again, I'm not going to describe them here as they can be found elsewhere.
The only complaint that I would have is that the puja is way too long. Try sitting on the floor with your legs crossed for close to 4h and you will understand why I think so...
