Navratri (Hindi: नवरात्री Gujarati: નવરાત્રી) is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga. The word Navaratri means ‘nine nights’ in Sanskrit, nava meaning nine and ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi are worshiped. The tenth day is commonly referred to as Vijayadashami or “Dussehra” (also spelled Dasara). Navratri is an important major festival and is celebrated with great zeal all over India. Diwali the festival of lights is celebrated twenty days after Dasara.
This festival corresponds to a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily by the ethnic Chinese of Min Nan linguistic group in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia,Thailand and also the Riau Islands called the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.