Shiva Ratri

Shivaratri or Maha Shivaratri is the “Great Night of Shiva,” the year’s most important celebration of Shiva. It was on this night, they say, that Shiva burst forth from the earth as a shaft of sheer light so that the gods and people could worship the Divine radiance in the form of the linga. According to legend, those who stay awake through the night to worship Shiva are released from many lifetimes of sin. Shivaratri is observed in most American Hindu temples, falling on the 14th day of the waning fortnight of the lunar month of February/March.