Sheetala Ashtami

{{Short description|Hindu festival honoring the goddess Sheetala}}

{{more citations needed|date=March 2019}}

{{Infobox holiday

| holiday_name = Sheetala Ashtami

| type = Hindu

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| date = Chaitra māsa Ashtami tithi

| frequency = Annual

| duration = 1 day

| celebrations = Worshipping

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| alt = Idols of goddess Laxmi

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| observedby = Hindus

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Sheetala Ashtami or Sheetalasthami is a Hindu festival in honor of the goddess Shitala or Sheetala, celebrated on the eighth day (ashtami) after the festival of colors, Holi.

Sheetala Ashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of Krishna Paksha (the waning moon) in the Hindu month of Chaitra,{{cite news |author=प्रज्ञा बाजपेयी |title=जानें- क्या है शीतला अष्टमी का महत्व, ऐसे करें शीतला माता की पूजा |url=https://aajtak.intoday.in/story/sheetala-ashtami-2019-pujan-vidhi-and-significance-tlifd-1-1070498.html |newspaper=Aaj Tak |language=Hindi |date=26 March 2019 |accessdate=25 February 2020 }}{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/astrology/rituals-puja/sheetala-ashtami-the-puja-that-drives-heat-borne-diseases/articleshow/68206364.cms |title=Sheetala Ashtami: The Puja That Drives Heat Borne Diseases |newspaper=Times of India |orig-year=23 December 2016 |date=21 April 2019 }} and thus falls eight days after Holi.{{cite news |author=रेणु चौहान |title=Sheetala Ashtami 2019: शीतला अष्टमी का शुभ मुहूर्त, प्रसाद, पूजा-विधि और कथा |url=https://khabar.ndtv.com/news/faith/sheetala-ashtami-2019-sheetala-ashtami-puja-shubh-muhurat-datetime-katha-and-importance-2013504 |website=NDTV Khabar |language=Hindi |date=27 March 2019 |accessdate=25 February 2020}}

The festival falls at the start of the summer season; Shitala is worshipped to ward off heat-borne diseases, such as smallpox, and also to bring prosperity. Observances of the day involve offering to the goddess and consuming only food prepared one or two days before. For this reason, Sheetala Ashtami is referred to in some parts of India as Basora or Basoda, meaning "previous night". Khadi, panchkuta, khichiya, and sweetened rice are foods traditionally offered and consumed. After this day, stale food is not to be eaten.