Teej

This "Teej" is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains. Teej is a fasting festival of women in Nepal that falls on month of Shravan (August). The celebration of this festival is for marital bliss, well being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul.

Traditionally, the ritual of Teej is obligatory for all Hindu married women and girls who have reached puberty. According to the holy books, the Goddess Parbati fasted and prayed fervently for the great Lord Shiva to become her spouse. Touched by her devotion, he took her for his wife. Since then, Hindu women started to celebrate this festival.

The festival is celebrated for three-days. The first day of Teej is called the "Dar Khane Din". On this day the women, both married and unmarried, assemble at one place and start dancing and singing devotional songs on till midnight. 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 the day, they wear red dresses and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. A large number of devotees visit to Pashupatinath temple. They perform puja offering flowers, fruits etc to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching their blessing upon the husband and family. The devotees light the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night. If the light dies away, it could be bad omen.

The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. Women perform final ritual of Teej paying homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. After it, women are considered absolved from all sins.

References:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teej
• http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/teej.html

Gokarna Aunsi

Father is specially paid lot of reverence as the pillar of strength and support of family on the day of Gokarna Aunsi. The day is also known as Kuse Aunsi. It falls on the dark fortnight in the month August/ September.

On the day, ones children, staying nearer or farther, come with presents and show their gratitude and appreciation for his guidance and teaching in their life. Married daughters visit to their parent's home with delicacies. After the offering of gifts, they touch their father's feet with their foreheads , this act of veneration is done by the sons only , the daughters touch the hand. The ceremony is also known as "looking upon father's face".
People with or without fathers visited to shrine at Gokarna village and worship the Gokarneswor Mahadev, a sacred shrine of lord Shiva , renowned for his singularly close communion with the souls of dead. The fatherless people honour the memory of their fathers and promote welfare of his soul here.

Reference:

• http://www.info-nepal.com/society/festivals/gokarnaaunsi.html
• http://homestaynepal.come/festival.html

Shree Krishna Janmastmi

Shree Krishna Janmastami is marked as the birthday of God Shree Krishna in Nepal. The day is also known as Krishna Jayanti or Janmastami. God Krishna is worshipped as the 8^th 'incarnation' of Vishnu.

His life is filled with numerous dangers over which he ultimately gained victory. The stories of how he killed, one after the other, all the demonic adversaries- Pootana, Shakata, Agha, Dhenuka, Bakaa, Keshi, Kansa, Shishupala, Jarasandha etc. - has made him the peerless savior of mankind. God Krishna has an important role in Mahabharat as well.

On the day, all the devotees assemble in Krishna Mandir, the ancient Krishna Temple in Patan Durbar Square and other temples with the idol of Sri Krishna and offer prayers, flowers, food, sweets and chant hymns too.

Gai Jatra

Gai Jatra (The procession of cows) is a festival celebrated in the Nepalese month of Bhadra (August-September). This festival of cow has its roots in the ancient age when people feared and worshipped the god of death, Yamaraj. Neverthless, the festival came into tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of Malla Kings. The root of this festival is the belief that the god of death, Yamaraj, must be feared and hence worshopped. Hence, the present form of Gai Jatra is a happy blending of antiquity and medievalism.

On the day, every family who has lost one relative during the past year participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as cow is considered a fair substitute. In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven.

There is a comical aspect to the festival. Humorous and satirical street shows of the people in power are performed in major towns of the country.

Many newspapers also publish special editions with humorous and satirical articles marking the Gaijatra festival.

In this festival, irregularities of the society are exposed through satirical means.

Reference:

• http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/festivals/gaijatra.html

• http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/aug/aug10/news01.php

One festival: Three Names (Gunupunhi, Rishi Tarpani and Janai Purnima)

Nepal is ‘The land of festival’ which have religious, cultural, social, educational, and economical character. The festival falls on the full moon day of Shrawan and is celebrated by both Hindus and the Buddhists is known by several names such as Gunupunhi, Rishi-Tarpani, Raksha-Bandhan etc.

Janai Purnima, the Sacred Thread Festival, is for Hindu men specially Bhramhans and Chettris who performs their annual change of Janai. Janai is is the symbol of being manhood and during religious ceremony called ‘Bratabandhan’, the thread is given only to males. From the day onwards, one must wear this Janai. Triple strings of Janai are the symbol of body, speech and mind. Therefore the wearer is supposed to gain complete control over each.

The wearer of Janai makes himself clean by shaving, cutting hair and bathing on the preceding day and undergoes partial fast avoiding meat, onion and garlic. Next morning, family priest performs a ceremony to sanctify the new thread reading from a holy book and place it about the recipient's neck across the chest.

The day is also called ‘Raksha Bandhan’. On the day, people wear sacred yellow thread around the wrist. The males tie the thread on the right and women on their left wrist. Raksha means ‘Protection’ and Bandhan means ‘Bond’. The thread is removed after three months on day of ‘Laxmi Puja’ and tie to the tail of a cow with the belief that it will help to cross the river Bhaiarna when death comes. On the morning of Raksha Bandhan, Brahman ties yellow thread around the buyers’ wrist intoning a quick prayer.

In Newar communities, the festival is also celebrated eating “Kwati”, a soup of nine different beans that is very nutritious and tasty. In terai, the day is celebrated as the day of brothers and sisters. Sisters offer “Rakhi” to brothers and brothers offers gift.

Thousands of people worship lord Shiva on this day. Religious fairs are held in Kumbheswor, Baraha Chhetra and Gosaikunda, among other places.

Photo source: www.nepalnews.com