Teej is the generic name for a number of Hindu festivals that are celebrated by women. Haryali Teej and Hartalika Teej welcome the monsoon season and are celebrated primarily by girls and women, with songs, dancing and prayer rituals. Which mostly focused on Goddess Parvati and her marriage to Lord Shiva. Teej is often celebrated by women fasting. Hartalika Teej is a Nepalese festival observed throughout the country, as well as most of North India (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Darjeeling, Sikkim). Teej celebrations are traditionally held by women to commemorate the monsoon season during the Hindu months of Shravan and Bhadrapada. During Teej, women frequently pray to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva.
Teej is a three-day celebration celebrated by women all over Nepal during the month of August. Women dressed in Red sarees, Red tikas, and bangles sing and dance for days to traditional folk tunes. When married ladies receive a special invitation to attend their mother house and feast, it is especially noteworthy. The women fast for 24 hours after a long feast known as Dar, during which they do not eat or even drink water. What’s fascinating is watching ladies of all ages, young and elderly, dance for hours in the heat and rain for a whole day without a drop of water or sustenance.
The Pashupatinath temple is a sight to behold, with thousands of ladies dressed in red and green thronging the temple grounds. Observers can photograph these happy women dancing, and visitors, particularly women tourists, are sometimes invited to join in the fun. The purpose of such a festival is for ladies to petition Lord Shiva for special favors, to find a nice husband, and to pray for his longevity and prosperity.
Women appease seven saints on the final day of this three-day celebration by providing them food, money, and various offerings, as well as bathing in red mud and brushing their teeth with Datiwan (branches of a bush tree), in the hopes of purifying their body and soul.
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