Dashain (दशैं) is the 15-day national (religious) festival of Nepal, It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the globe . The festival falls around September–October, before the rice harvest. This festival is known for emphasis on family gatherings, as well as on a renewal of community ties. People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together.
The festival is a blend of Hindu Tantrik and animistic harvest festival traditions. On the first day, called Ghatasthapana, the "Dashain Ghar", or special worship room, is set up—this room is used to worship the Astha-Matrikas (the 8 tantrik Goddesses) as well as the Nava Durgas (the 9 Goddess Durga), to whom the festival is consecrated. Married women will say the mantras for the next fifteen days, and guard the goddesses. Barley is sowed in big earthen pots which have a coating of cow dung. These seeds will sprout in ten days. The sprouts, which symbolize a good harvest, will be decoratively placed on the heads of family members later on in the festival as a blessing.
Dashain's Tika and Jamara
The eighth day, Asthami, is the day of animal sacrifices. Goddess temples all over the Kathmandu Valley receive sacrifices, ranging from male goats and water buffaloes to ducks and chickens. Blood, symbolic for its fertility, is offered to the Goddesses. This meat is taken home and cooked as "prasad", or food blessed by divinity. This food is offered, in tiny leaf plates, to the household Gods, then distributed amongst the family. Eating this food is thought to be auspicious.
Sacrifices continue on Navami, the ninth day. Families will visit various temples around the Kathmandu Valley. On the tenth day, "Dashami," a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermillion will be prepared by the women. This preparation is known as "tika". Elders put this on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them with fertility and abundance in the upcoming year. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders will give "Dakshina", or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time. The tika continues for five days, during which time people also gather to play cards around massive amounts of food and drink.
In several parts of Nepal, Dashain is the only time of the year when people receive a set of new clothing. Likewise, in poorer families, the animal sacrifice is eagerly anticipated since it might be the only animal protein the family would eat all year. This may be true in certain parts of Nepal where food is in low supply, but is less so in the cities. In general, the tradition of sacrifice is lessening with the easy availability of meat for daily consumption, and with the influences of Vaishnav Hindus (who are vegetarian).
तिहार
Tihar (तिहार) is a five-day Nepalese festival celebrated in late autumn, which comes soon after Dashain. Two of these days incorporates the Hindu festival Deepavali, where one day is celebrated for goddess Laxmi and the other one is celebrated to worship brothers for their long life. However, all ethnic groups celebrate this festival. The festival is celebrated from Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna to Katrik Shukla Dwitiya every year.The name Tihar means the festival of lights, where many candles are lit both inside and outside the houses to make it bright at night. The five-day festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like crow, cow and dog, who maintain an intense relationship with the humans.
Kag Puja
The first day of the festival is called Kag Puja or Kag Parva - Worship of Crows. The crows are worshipped by offerings of sweets and dishes on the roof of the houses. The cawing of the crows symbolises sadness and grief in the Hindu mythology, so the devotees offer the crows food to avert grief and deaths in their homes.Tihar in Nepal and Diwali in India represent the divine attachment between Human and other animals and birds in our nature. To strengthen the worship of nature, all these rituals are introduced in Hinduism.Kukur Puja
This day is also observed as Narak Chaturdashi.
Gai Puja and Laxmi Puja
On the morning of the third day is Gai Puja - Worship of Cows. The Cow is considered to be the surrogate mother humans, according to Hindu myth, so they worship her with tika, garlands and fruits on that day.In the evening Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped. This day is called Laxmi Puja. The goddess is believed to enter the brightest house to give her blessings, making the family healthy and prosperous. And at night the girls enjoy dancing and visiting all the houses of villages with many musical instrument playing a historical game called bhailini(vailini) for whole night. By this they collect money from all the houses and at last when th money become inlarge amount they share among them.This is the very good day for all girls.Bhailini is a historical game which has been followed by our ancestor.
Gobhardan Puja and Maha Puja
On the fourth day of Tihar, there are three different known pujas, depending on the people's specific cultural background. Most perform Goru Puja, or Worship of Oxen. People who follow Krishna perform Gobardhan Puja, which is worship towards Cowdung. Cowdung is seen as very useful in Nepal, as in the olden days it was used for everything from light at night (Methane) to polish for the mud floors of traditional houses. The Newar community on the night of this day do Maha Puja, or Worship of Self. Because this period is also the beginning of Nepal Sambat, or the new year of Nepalese especially commemorated by Newars, it ensures prosperity for the new year.The third and fourth day of Tihar is especially famous for Deusi and Bhailo, light and fireworks. Deusi and Bhailo are the songs which have only been sung on those Tihar days. Social workers, young and children visit local homes to sing these songs, and in return the home owners give them money, fruit, rice and bread (Selroti, a special type of bread made by rice flour and sugar). The Deusi is mostly sung by the boys while the Bhailo is sung by the girls.
Bhai Tika
The fifth and last day of Tihar is Bhai Tika, a day where sisters put "tika" on forehead of brothers, to ensure long life, and thank them for the protection they give. When the sisters give the "Tika", the brothers give gifts or money as a return. A special garland is made for the brothers out of a flower that wilts after a couple of months, symbolizing the sister's prayer for her brother's long life.TEEJ
Teej (Nepali: तीज) is a fasting festival for Hindu women. It takes place in 3rd day of Shukla Paksha in Shraavan or Saawan month of Hindu calendar, normally falls in the month of August or early September. Dedicated to the Goddess Parvati, commemorating her union with Lord Shiva, the festival is celebrated for marital bliss, well-being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul. The festival is a three-day-long celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting.
Falling on the Hindu month of Bhadrapada or Bhado (August/September), it also celebrates the arrival of monsoon after a season of oppressive heat. "Teej" is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains.
The first day of Teej is called Dar Khane Din. On this day the women, both married and unmarried, mainly of Khas ethnicity, assemble at one place, in their finest attire and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Amidst all this, the grand feast takes place. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24-hour fast starts.
The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearbyShiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath Temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the Shiva Linga, the symbol of the lord, offering flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits, etc., made to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching them to grant their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night.
The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day's puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all their sins. The recent years have witnessed an alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.
Teej is celebrated just before the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Married women do 24-hour nirjala fasting (without water or fruit) for the wellness of their spouse and their married life.
