This festival of Maha Shivratri is celebrated by many people, as there are many devotees of Lord Shiva.
Mahashivratri 2011 The famous festival among the Hindus of Mahashivratri 2011 falls on February 12, Friday. This occasion falls on the Krishna Paksha of Phalgun (the Hindu month), which at the same time relates to the February – March months of the English calendar. The Mahashivratri 2011 is the day which celebrates the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati.
Meaning of Mahashivratri The actual meaning of Mahashivratri is the ‘night of Shiva’ when the Lord is worshipped with all dedication in the Hindu fraternity. On the moonless night of Mahashivratri, thousands of devotees offer their prayers to the Lord in various Lord Shiva temples. On the day of Mahashivratri, Lord Shiva was married to Parvati and people celebrate this day by observing fast and chanting prayers.
Shivratri Celebrations There are various ways to celebrate Mahashivratri. Perked up with utmost devotion and religious commitment, people across India (also abroad) get into the groove of worshipping Lord Shiva. It is through fast and worshipping the Shiva Linga that Shivratri celebrations take place. It is a common ritual of Shivratri celebrations with few minor variations in different regions.
Shivratri Festival For all dedicated devotees of Shiva, the Shivratri festival every year is an important occasion. They all stay awake the entire night for offering prayers to him. Various rituals are performed for worshipping the Shivalinga. It is a practice by the devotees that they stay on fast the entire day and eat and drink only next morning after night long worship. Also known to be pious, it is on this day that married women offers prayers for the well being of their husbands and sons and correspondingly unmarried women prays of the festival of Shivratri to get an ideal husband like Shiva

Maha Shivaratri, the Great/Grand Night of Lord Shiva is being celebrated this Wednesday, the 3rd of March, 2011, in Mauritius and worldwide. This auspicious festival is celebrated in a grand way each year on the Krishna Paksha Trayodashi/Chaturdashi in the month of Phalguna (according to the Hindu Calendar).

That is, Maha Shivratree is observed on the 13th / 14th moon day and night on the moon’s diminishing phase in the month of February/March. In fact, on a small scale, Shivratree is celebrated every month on the Krishna Paksha (dark half of the moon) Trayodashi/Chaturdashi (13th/14th moon day) and this is known as Masik Shivratree. Ultimately, there comes the large-scale celebration of the festival, known as Maha Shivratree.

The History of Mahashivratri

There are several legends and stories which relate to the celebration of this festival. Some people believe that Maha Shivratree marks the wedding ceremony of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Others believe that, it was on this day that Lord Shiva consumed the pot of poison that emerged during the Samudra Manthan, to protect the world.
While yet others believe that it was on this day that Lord Shiva came out of the Shiva Linga declaring himself as the most powerful since neither Lord Vishnu nor Lord Brahma could measure its length after the challenge set before them in order to settle their argument about who is more powerful.
With this, we wish all believers a very Pious Maha Shivaratri. You might also wish to have a look at some of these past articles related to Mahashivratri