Dasara - Day 1

Today - 30th september 2008, is the first day of Dasara.

The Goddess is decorated as Sree Swarnakavacha Durga devi.

The tidhi is Padyami.

The star is Hastha.

The offering or prasadam is Pulagam.

The above information is as per the avatarams of Vijayawada. The Shankar mutt avatarams are slightly different.

Dasara

Dasara, also known as Navaratri is the time of worshiping the Goddess. Goddess is very powerful. Each day (in the 9 days), the goddess is decorated in various avatars and is worshiped. One of the ways to celebrate this festival (as I do) is to perform the respective goddess Ashtotram (recite the 108 names of the goddess) and then read Sree Lalitha Sahasranamam and then offer the prasadam that is for that day.
The following are the avatars of the godess.
Durga
Bala Tripura Sundari
Gayathri
Annapurna
Lalitha
Lakshmi
Saraswathi
Raja rajeshwari
Mahishasura mardhini