The exact date of the commencement of worship on the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is not known to anyone, although according to history, it is estimated that during 1630-1680, during the time of Ganesh Chaturthi festival Shivaji (the founder of the Maratha Empire) had a public ceremony.
At the time of Shivaji, this Ganeshotsav was started celebrated regularly as the patriarch of his empire. After the end of the Peshwas, it remained a family celebration, revived in 1893 by Lokmanya Tilak (an Indian freedom fighter and social reformer).
Ganesh Chaturthi was started celebrating by the Hindu people as an annual domestic festival with great preparation. Generally it was started celebrating as a national festival to bring unity among the people along with the removal of conflict between Brahmins and non-Brahmins. People in Maharashtra started celebrating during British rule with great courage and nationalist zeal to be free from the cruel behavior of the British. The ritual of Ganesh Visarjan was established by Lokmanya Tilak.
Gradually people started celebrating this festival through community participation rather than family celebrations. People of the society and community celebrate this festival together as a community festival and collectively perform intellectual speeches, poems, dances, devotional songs, dramas, concerts, folk dances, etc. People get together before the date and decide how to control such a large crowd as well as celebrating the festival.
Ganesh Chaturthi, a sacred Hindu festival, is celebrated by the people as the birth day of Lord Ganesha (Lord of Gods, meaning the supreme God of wisdom and prosperity). The entire Hindu community celebrates annually with full devotion and dedication. According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Ganesha was born on Chaturthi (the fourth day of the bright fortnight) in the month of Magha. Since then, the date of birth of Lord Ganesha began to be celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi. Nowadays, this festival is celebrated by people of Hindu and many Muslim communities all over the world.
