DASHAIN AND TIHAR

Hellow!!
        I want to pre warn my readers tht this is no outfit post.. In this post i'd like to introduce our main festival "dashain" to those who doesnt know about it.. It is to all those international readers of mine..

DASHAIN
 Dashain is the 15 days long festival of nepal. The festival falls around september/october starting frm the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day of full moon.It is celebrated as it commemorated the victory of the god and goddesses over the demon. The festival is known for its emphasis on the family gatherings.people return from all parts of the world to celebrate together.

FORMS OF CELEBRATION:
1- One gets to know that Dasain is around the corner when they see kites all over the sky. Flying kites has been a very important part of celebrating Dasain in the country as it is considered to be one way of reminding god not to send rain anymore. Not only the children of the family but during the festival you can see people of all ages in their roofs flying kites. Colorful kites of different shapes and voices shouting out 'Changa khat' (this phrase is usually used when one is successful in cutting the other person's kite) fill the days during the festival.

2-  Playing cards is another way of celebrating Dasain. Gambling is illegal in the country but it is usually permitted in public places only during this festival. While children are busy flying kites during Dasain, the older members of the family pass their time by getting together and playing cards with each other for money and fun all day long.

3. Buying and wearing new clothes is an important part of the festival. As many people are living in the villages and are below the poverty line and for them it is often the case that new clothes come only with Dasain.Almost all the shops in the country have festival offers and discounts. This makes shopping more attractive to people. Clothes is the item which has the highest sales during the festival.

 4- Bamboo swings are constructed in many parts of the country as a way of celebration. These bamboo swings is called 'ping' in Nepali. These kind of swings present the best of local culture, tradition, community spirit and fun

5-The most important part of dashain is receiving tika,blessings and money from elders.. In our country elders are respected as gods.so their blessings are very important.

TIHAR
        Tihar also known as Deepawali in terai region of Nepal is a five days long hinduand buddhist festival celebrated in Nepal which comes soon after Dashain. Similar to deepawali,, where one day is celebrated for goddess Laxmi and the other one is celebrated to worship brothers for their long life.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.

FORMS OF CELEBRATION
1-The first day of the festival is called Kag Tihar (worship of the crows). The crows are worshiped by offerings of sweets and dishes on the roof of the houses. The cawing of the crows symbolizes sadness and grief in the Hindu mythology, so the devotees offer the crows food to avert grief and deaths in their homes

2-The second day is called Kukur Tihar  (worship of the dogs).Dog, which is believed to be messenger of Lord Yamaraj, the God of death, is worshiped once a year on this day. People offer garlands, tika and delicious food to the dogs, and acknowledge the cherished relationship between humans and the dogs.

3- The morning of third day is Gai Tihar (worship of the cow). In Hinduism, the cow is sign of prosperity and wealth. Thus on this day people show their gratefulness to the cow by garlanding and feeding the cow with the best grass. Houses are cleaned and the doorways and windows are decorated with garlands made of marigolds and chrysanthemums.

In the evening Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is thanked for all the benefits that were bestowed on the families by lighting oil lamps or candles on doorways and windows to welcome prosperity and well being. At night the girls enjoy dancing and visiting all the houses of the village with many musical instruments playing a historical game called Bhailo all night long. They collect money from all the houses by singing and dancing and share the sweets and money amongst themselves.From the third day onwards 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. The Deusi is mostly sung by the boys while the Bhailo is sung by the girls. Social workers, young and children visit local homes to sing these songs, and in return the home owners give them money, fruit, rice and Selroti (a special type of Nepali bread made by rice flour and sugar).

Lighting is very important in tihar. Home's are decorated like this with lights in Tihar

           Girls dancing like playing deusi

Money along with rice and fruits are given to those who comes to play deusi in the home.. money is given according to the groups and quality of perfromance and according to one's capability..

                                                                             LAXMI PUJA

4-On the fourth day of Tihar, there are three different known pujas, depending on the people's specific cultural background .Most performGoru Tihar or Goru Puja (worship of the 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 Mha puja (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.People worship their vehicles as well in this day..

                                                    Preparation of mha puja as in worshipping ourselves..

                                                        Celebrating the vehicle

5-The fifth and last day of Tihar is Bhai Tika, a day where sisters put tika, on foreheads 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 in return. A special garland is made for the brothers out of a flower that wilts only after a couple of months, symbolizing the sister's prayer for her brother's long life.Brothers sit on a floor while sisters perform their puja. Puja involves following a traditional ritual in which sisters circle brothers three times dripping oil on the floor from a copper pitcher. Afterwards, sisters put oil in brother's ears and hairs, then give Tika. Also breaking of walnuts by sisters prior to giving Tika to brothers is also a common practice.

                                                   "SELROTI" very important dish of thiar

                                              Sisters putting tika to their brothers

                                                                 HAPPY BROTHERS

Tht's all.Since these are our main festivals i wanted to share it with u guys..Hope u like it.. Let me know wht u think in the comment below.. bye.. :)