Durga

===Dashain===
In [[Nepal]], the festival dedicated to Durga is called [[Dashain]] (sometimes spelled as Dasain), which literally means "the ten".<ref name="Melton2011"/> Dashain is the longest national holiday of Nepal, and is a public holiday in [[Sikkim]] and [[Bhutan]]. During Dashain, Durga is worshipped in ten forms ([[Shailaputri]], [[Brahmacharini]], [[Chandraghanta]], [[Kushmanda]], [[Skandamata]], [[Katyayani]], [[Kalaratri]], [[Mahagauri]], [[Mahakali]] and Durga) with one form for each day in Nepal. The festival includes animal sacrifice in some communities, as well as the purchase of new clothes and gift giving. Traditionally, the festival is celebrated over 15 days, the first nine-day are spent by the faithful by remembering Durga and her ideas, the tenth day marks Durga's victory over Mahisura, and the last five days celebrate the victory of good over evil.<ref name="Melton2011"/>

During the first nine days, nine aspects of Durga known as [[Navadurga]] are meditated upon, one by one during the nine-day festival by devout Hindus. Durga is occasionally worshipped as a celibate goddess, but the [[Shaktism]] traditions includes the worship of [[Shiva]] along with Durga, who is considered to be his consort, in addition to [[Lakshmi]], [[Saraswati]], [[Ganesha]] and [[Kartikeya]], who are considered to be Durga's children by Shaktas.<ref name = "celibatemarried" >{{cite book|title=The A to Z of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xU4ZdatgRysC|page=72|author=Bruce M. Sullivan|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2001|isbn=9780810840706|quote=Durga is usually regarded as a celibate goddess whose asceticism empowers her, but she may also be regarded as the consort and Sakti of Siva, depending on tradition.|access-date=3 May 2021|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415064539/https://books.google.com/books?id=xU4ZdatgRysC|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|David Kinsley|1998|p=95}} Some Shaktas worship Durga's symbolism and presence as [[Mother Nature]]. In South India, especially Andhra Pradesh, Dussera Navaratri is also celebrated and the goddess is dressed each day as a different Devi, all considered equivalent but another aspect of Durga.