Happy Birthday Lord Ganesh!

Happy birthday, Ganesh, Hindu patron of the arts and sciences and deity of intellect and wisdom. Ganesh is one of the most popular Hindu gods and his birthday begins a 10-day festival.  According to this short overview of the celebration from the Huffington Post, the festival is celebrated all over India with special prayers,  devotional chants, and singing.

The holiday is based on the Hindu calendar and, says the Post, usually falls between August 20 and September 15th.The festival for Ganesh begins today, September 9th.  The Huffington Post has a nice slideshow of preparations for the festival and includes some great photographs of Ganesh.

Here are some links to more information about Ganesh.

•  Here is a video clip of the Ganesh Mantra
• Here's another slideshow about the birthday celebration from the BBC
• The Sanatayan Society has some great information about Ganesh and other Hindu gods
• Indian Heritage also has information about Ganesh and other Hindu gods