"Teej Festival Women's Archives- My experience celebrating Teej festival with faith and fun"

Every year , in August or early September, there is a three-day festival called Teej. Teej is the fasting festival of women in Nepal which always ends on the fifth day of the brightening moon. Nepalese women claim it for themselves alone. In observing the required rituals and ceremonies , Nepalese women strive for what is desired by women everywhere- a happy and productive marriage, good fortune and long life for her husband, and the purification of her own body and soul. Red color is considered auspicious for women observing Teej fast. Similarly Traditional dances and songs form an important feature of Teej celebrations. I would like to share you some glimpse of my Teej celebration. I hope you will find interesting.

The folk music and dances add more flavor to traditional values of Teej. It is fascinating to see women, in “Red” dancing and singing on the street, going to temple in holy and fasting mood. Teej is also called Hari Talika Teej. This festival is celebrated by Nepali Hindu women all across the world.

With a craze to showcase the darker Henna color women keep mehndi for a longer time after applying it to their hands and feet. They even get their hands and feet covered as much as possible. We put special Henna pastes and oils are applied to make the henna darker. It is said if the color of henna darkens at its best, the married or an unmarried woman is loved intensely by both her mother-in-law and her husband.

As per my grandma, my grandpa used to cook darr for the whole family members. Now, men are becoming active about promoting Teej programmes for family, friends and relatives to make them happy. Some of them gift their wives with special and precious gifts to bring a smile on their faces.

While women are participating in various programmes and activities for the betterment of the community and the society, men are always behind them, supporting them. Hence in Teej, men play a vital role directly or indirectly to promote our festival of women. Sometimes somewhere in the male-dominant society, they don’t support the feelings and happiness of women but the educated society supports the festival as well as women to take part in such activities.

How do we celebrate Teej?
The eve (first day of Teej) is called Dar Khane Din. On this day all the family members especially the women, both married and unmarried gather at one place, in their finest outfits of red (called Saubhagya) and start dancing and singing devotional songs mixed with Nepali folk and Dohori songs.

This evening the grand feast takes place. The grand feast is called “Dar”. The fun often goes on till midnight, after midnight the 24-hour fasting starts.

Day1- Getting together to enjoy the fancy dinner
In the early morning, Nepalese women go to the mall for large purchases. When the night falls, they'll make a hearty meal and prepare tasty sweets. Good friends will gather together with foods and drinks, perform traditional dances and sing devotional songs. Those celebrations continue till the midnight.

Day2- Observing a one-day fast and praying to Lord Shiva for a good marriage
Today is the fasting day of Teej Festival. It's also a public holiday in Nepal. After having a warm bath, women will wear gold and silver jewelry and dress in their red wedding saris. Then they head in groups to Shiva temples nearby and offer flowers and fruits to Lord Shiva. One of the most important things is to make a wish for the healthy life of their husbands and families. The unmarried girls also follow Teej rituals to pray for a good husband.

Day 3- Taking a holy bath
Women get up early in the dawn and get cleaned and do the puja once again to the diyo and goddess Parvati. The most important part of this puja is a banana and holy basil (Tulsi patta) leaf. Only after this puja, women take solid food. This third day of Teej is Ganesh Chaturthati. Women eat Karkalo ko Tarkari with chokho (pure) food made with pure ghee.

These days it is becoming expensive to celebrate Teej as the people seem to be competing in inviting relatives and friends for the dar eating and spending more for other ritual practices.

Thank you for your time!
@bindu