There are many such festivals in India that are celebrated only by some religions, whereas there are many such festivals that are celebrated all over the country. A festival of this kind is Mahashivratri.
Mahashivratri is a festival associated with Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva is accepted under different forms throughout the country. The Mahashivaratri Festival is celebrated with great pomp throughout the country Today we will get all the information from the beginning of Mahashivaratri to Mahashivaratri rituals.

Maha Shivaratri Date 2023: 
Mah Shivaratri is celebrated each year. He normally comes in February or March. In 2023, Shivratri will take place on February 18, 2023. On Shivratriy, people worship Lord Shiva and perform puja on muhurat. People reach the temple early in the morning, and also certain people are fasting on that day.

What is Mahashivratri?
Mahashivratri is a Hindu festival which is associated with Lord Shiva. Shivratri also stands for Shiva’s night. Different beliefs are common throughout the country concerning Shivratri. Lord Shiva is worshipped on this day and many jagrans are being detained throughout the country.

Many devotees come into Lord Shiva temples on Mahashivratri’s day and in some temples the number of devotees that day goes into thousands and lakhs.

Why is Lord Shiva called Mahadev?
Although there is recognition of many gods in India, but according to Indian texts, some gods are seen as primordial, among which Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva are important. These three divinities are also named Tridev. But in all these divinities, the place of Lord Shiva is completely different, particularly that is why it is called Mahadev and not Dev.

Lord Shiva has been accepted into various forms throughout the country. In certain places Shiva is known as Neelkanth and in certain places Shiva is worshipped as Nataraj.
Many well-known temples and pilgrimages from India such as Amarnath and Kailashnath are based on Lord Shiva, where thousands of people come every year for darshan. There is much recognition of Lord Shiva in Indian civilization and the festival connected with him is Mahashivratri. Mahashivaratri is regarded as the greatest holiday of Lord Shiva.

Maha Shivratri story:
There are Mahadev devout crores in India. Interestingly, the youth of today also believes most in Mahadev. Lord Shiva is said to win over his enemies over Mahashivratri. People from different sects look at Lord Shiva with different visions. The people absorbed into the world regard Lord Shiva to be the destroyer of enemies and according to them, Lord Shiva gets victory over his enemies on this day.
The devotees of Lord Shiva celebrate the day of Mahashivratri with much excitement. There are people who make Jagran that day while others make Shiva adore. On the other hand, on this day, people of certain sects also use intoxicating substances such as hookah and alcohol, etc. Mahashivaratria is regarded as the darkest day of the month. It is said that on this day Lord Shiva destroys the forces of evil and destroys their kingdom.
Spiritual significance of Mahashivaratri
People who follow the spiritual path believe in Lord Shiva more than people in the world believe in it. Lord Shiva is regarded as a wise man instead of a destroyer. According to the yogic tradition, Shiva is not a donor but the Adi Guru who first received the knowledge and passed it on.
The day he reached the height of knowledge and became stable, is celebrated as Shivratri.

Apart from that, recluses also regard Lord Shiva as a recluse who is far from mundane life. According to the belief of some people, Lord Shiva is a real shape and this entire world is just an illusion. Through special worship, we can all move away from this illusion and reach true form and meet each other in Shiva.
In the yogic tradition, Lord Shiva is regarded as a sage and solitary. This tradition is a belief in peace. This also makes Mahashivaratri very special spiritually.
stories based on mahashivratri
Like all Indian festivals, many beliefs about Mahashivaratri are prevalent. Many histories on ancient texts have to do with Mahashivaratri. The most popular story about Mahashivaratri is believed to be the birth of Shiva. From many texts, Lord Shiva appeared for the first time on Mahashivaratri’s day. On that day he appeared in his best form as Agnilinga, who had neither beginning nor end.
A story also tells that on Falgun’s Krishna Paksha Chaturdashi, Shivling appeared in 64 places simultaneously. To date, we are only aware of 12 of them that we all know as Jyotirlinga. Mahashivaratri is equally celebrated as the wedding of Shiva. It is said that on that day Shiva left her asceticism and married Shakti and started her mundane life.

Maha Shivratri Fasting:
On Shivratri day, you have to wake up early in the morning, take a bath, and so on. and commit themselves to fasting before this Lord Shankar with total devotion. At the same time, the blessings of Lord Shiva should be taken to complete the period of fasting during Sankalp. Other than that, take a resolution that will allow you to keep fasting, i.e.. fruitless or waterless.