Tihar – Nepal’s Festival of Lights
Tihar is one of the most dazzling of all Hindu festivals. Also known as festival of lights, it is considered to be of great importance among Nepalese people. Tihar is celebrated for five days, with different traditional rituals performed each day. A beautiful aspect about this festival is that it not only marks a celebration of humans and gods, but also represents the attachment between human and animals.
The first day of Tihar is known as “Kag (Crow) Tihar”. On this day, people worship the crows by offering different food items in a plate made of saal leaves. The second day observed is “Kukur (Dog) Tihar” where dogs are worshipped to thank them for guarding our homes and for their loyalty. People offer a variety of delicious food to dogs. Even the street dogs are given respect on this particular day. “Laxmi Puja” is the third day of Tihar. On this day people worship the cow and the goddess Laxmi. Goddess Laxmi, the symbolic deity of wealth and prosperity, is worshiped and entreated to provide a prosperous life. In the evening, all houses are decorated with colorful garlands, rangoli art, lights and diyas. Because this day is marked on the new moon, lights have particular significance. It is believed amidst the bleak darkness of the new moon, goddess Laxmi will visit the house which is decorated beautifully and brightly with lights. With all the shimmering and dazzling lights, the city looks very beautiful during Laxmi puja. During this evening of Tihar, girls gather together and visit different houses wearing their cultural dresses. They play different musical instruments and perform dances to collect blessings and money from the home owners. This practice is called “Vailo”. The fourth day is “Gobardhan Puja” where people worship the ox. On this evening, it is the boys’ turn to perform dancing, singing, and collect blessings and money. This practice is called “Deusi”.
The fifth and last day of Tihar is “Bhaitika”. On this day, all the sisters honor their brothers and pray for their longevity and good health. They put seven different colors of tika on their brother’s forehead. They adrorn him with garlands and offer different delicious foods like apple, okhar, and chocolates. In return, they get different gifts from their brothers.
Tihar is my personal favorite festival among all because all of our family members get reunited on this occasion. We play Deusi Vailo every year together with our friends and I love the beautiful atmosphere of the city lights in the evening. My sister and I decorate our home, create rangoli art, experiment with new dishes in the kitchen and it is full of fun. I love this festival of lights!