Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and arts, represents the free flow of wisdom and consciousness.

She is the mother of the Vedas, and chants to her, called the 'Saraswati Vandana' often begin and end Vedic lessons. Saraswati is the daughter of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. It is believed that goddess Saraswati endows human beings with the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning: mind, intellect, alertness and ego. She has sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus the symbol of true knowledge in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on a string instrument called the veena. She is dressed in white the symbol of purity and rides on a white swan symbolizing Sattwa Guna or purity and discrimination. Saraswati is also a prominent figure in Buddhist iconography - the consort of Manjushri. The learned and the erudite attach greater importance to the worship of goddess Saraswati. As a practice, only educated people worship her for knowledge and wisdom. They believe that only Saraswati can grant them 'moksha' - the final liberation of the soul. Saraswati's birthday - Vasant Panchami - is a Hindu festival celebrated every year on the 5th day of the bright fortnight of the lunar month of Magha. Hindus celebrate this festival with great fervor in temples, homes and educational institutes alike.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraswati#Respect_for_written_material Saraswati is the Hindu Goddess of wisdom, learning, arts, knowledge, performing arts, music, and speech. According to Bansi Pandit (1), the Sanskrit word sara means essence and swa means self. Thus Saraswati means the essence of self. She is represented in mythology as the divine consort of the Hindu Lord Brahma, creator of the universe. Most commonly Saraswati is worshipped by students, scholars, teachers, scientists, artists, and all who are interested in knowledge. Saraswati is the sister of Lakshmi and her name is also spelled Sarasvati. According to most myths, Saraswati did not have children. She is said to have a temper and is easily provoked and quarrelsome. She has a very independent will and does not easily oblige to the male gods. She has four arms, which represent four aspects found in human personality:

1. Mind (manas) 2. Ego (ahankara) 3. Intellect (buddhi) 4. Alertness (chita)

The Saraswati Puja is one of the many festivals that the Hindus celebrate all over the world. It is the festival which is celebrated in honor of the Goddess of Learning - Saraswati. When it is Celebrated : The time fixed for the celebration of this festival is long period. This period begins from the month of Magha and ends in the Phalgun. The day fixed for the Puja is the fifth day of the full moon. Hence this festival is also called Sripanchami Festival. Meaning : The festival seems to be connected with old festival of kaumudi ustav and basant ustav. The Basant utsav begins with the day of the Saraswati Puja. It is celebrated by the people of Uttar Pradesh even now for fifteen days till Dolepurnima (full moon) comes. Why it is Celebrated : It is natural to ask why this festival is observed at such a time. The answer is plain. The people of India, in general, ignorant of royal grandeur. They have a little knowledge of the world. Their knowledge is limited to their native village. being happy with the good harvest of late winter, they find good opportunities to thank God. This they do in the form of the worship of the Goddess-one of the consorts of God. The Special Features of the Festival special features of the festival is that people give up totally the work of reading and writing on the day of Puja. From the old to the young devotees have showed their offerings on the Goddess they begin to eat dish which is prepared for this occasion. Conclusion : On the next day, the pieces of paper are prepared by writing sacred names on them. They are offered to the Goddess. Then the devotees can begin their intellectual work again.