Teej Festival in Nepal
Teej is the festival of women in Nepal. This festival is celebrated by many Hindu woman’s, mostly married Hindu woman’s with the cultural belief that their fasting will increase their beloved husband’s life and for their healthy life. In this festival Lord Shiva is honored and unmarried girls also fast in this day with the hope/wish of getting nice husband in future. Women’s in this day celebrate this special day by wearing red shari (A kind of cloth for women), precious ornaments, bangles, dancing in different songs and also going to their parent’s home. This festival is celebrated for three days:
> First Day is the “Dar Khane Din”/special kind of food eating day:
In this day, women’s dress in their finest clothes wearing expensive clothes and dance in folk songs and some modern songs, now-a-days. Mostly, in this day women go to their parent’s house and celebrate with sisters, mothers and other relatives and eat specially prepared nourishment known as “Dai” in Nepali culture.
> Second Day is “Fasting Day”
Today is dedicated to puja and praying without eating anything for 24 hours. In this day Lord Shiva is celebrated and women’s go to temples and prey with flowers, sweets and coins. Also the special oil lamp is lighted in this ceremony and it should be kept lit all night to avoid bad omen to happen in the future and also believes that it will bring peace and prosperity in the family.
> Third Day is named “Rishi Panchami”
Today the seven sages/saints of the Hindu pantheon are worshipped by taking holy bath in red mud which is taken from roots of the sacred Datiwan bush (kind of grass). This is the celebration which is celebrated with the belief that all the sins made in the past will be cleaned. Short History: Teej was ideally dedicated to celebrate goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva, mainly celebrated in Sukla Thiti according to Hindu Calender. Their union is considered as the ultimate devotion and love. To honor this union of greatly celebrated Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati, it is celebrated by many hindu women’s with the belief of their marriage to be loving and happy. On the starting of the ceremony, idol representing goddess Parvati is decorated with gold, jewelry and flower. And on the last day it is put to an end by the same procession.