TEEJ FESTIVAL
Teej festival is celebrated by Nepali Hindu women throughout the country today, 8 September, 2013. Teej is a religious, social and cultural festival in Nepal in which the married women visit their parent’s home and celebrate Teej with their mother, sisters and friends. Married women take a full day fast for their husband’s wellness. Unmarried women and girls also take fast on Teej and pray to get a nice husband. Modern women take fruits and liquid in the evening after their puja (worship) while some women live without any food and drops of water for 24-hours on this day. As women worship Lord Shiva on Teej, the colorful women fully decorated with ornaments and bangles gather at the Shiva temples. The Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu is highly visited by the Hindu women in Teej where they worship Pashupatinath (Shiva) and perform Teej dance. Teej puja takes place also at home. Some women do puja both at the temple and home. Besides its religious meaning, Teej is a cultural festival in which women dance and sing songs at home, temples and nearby public places.
