Hindus celebrate Kartik at beaches Wednesday

Kartik celebration at Manzanilla beach, Trinidad

Thousands of Hindus flock to beaches across Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday for the annual Kartik Snaan religious festival.

All schools operated by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) will be closed for the day. The festival is celebrated at water courses with ritual prayers.

It was brought to Trinidad with Indian indentured labourers in the 19th century and has always been an important part of the calendar of festivals.

Kartik Snan is also called Kartik Purnima and Kartik Nahan and is celebrated on the full moon day, usually at the end of October or November, following Divali. Like all Hindu festivals, the date changes from year to year because Hindus follow a lunar calendar.

The tradition includes a purification bath in the sea and puja.