Tihar

Last week we celebrated Tihar, Diwali in India, the second largest holiday in Nepal.
First it was the crows' day, but we didn't see any. I guess they had gone to a party palace.
Then it was the dogs' day and we celebrated our own dogs and the neighborhood dogs, as usual.
Our sweethearts Lizzie and Angel.

Neighborhood dog friends.

The third day it was Laxmi's day. She is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Leya is performing a puja, ceremony.

The fourth day is the cows' day and then we should have searched for a cow to put this thread on the tail, but we totally forgot about it.
This yellow and orange thread we had put on by a Brahmin in a Hindu temple in August and when you put it on a cow's tail you go straight to heaven when you die.
Apparently you have to renew it every year. I guess this action will remove all your sins and it's almost impossible to not catch a sin here and there during a normal way of living.

The last day is the most important day. It's when the sisters celebrate their brothers and we were fortunate to participate in three different ceremonies.
Our friend Prem and his family are Buddhists, but since the kids were small they celebrate this day even though it's a Hindu festival.
I love this about Nepal. Why not enjoy each others festivals?

Here Prem gets his tikka, red color mixed with water and rice, and the 7 colors of the body's chakras, put on his forehead.

Here my mom gets one too.

Prem's mom is so old and sweet. I just want to hug her every time we visit.

Then we went to Mom Sweetie's house. She is in New York, but the traditions are still performed by the puja master, Munju, Mom Sweetie's oldest daughter and Eva's mom.
This family is Newari, a large folk group here in Nepal.
Nicholas is greeted as a brother and Leya celebrates Eva's brother Evans as her brother.

Last we went to my Nepalese little brother Suresh home where I was a part of the puja as a sister.
Suresh and his two brothers have four sisters and here is the oldest sister also in charge of the rituals.
This family is Brahmin, the highest caste.

Suresh, in the white t-shirt, is a happy fellow. Next to him is a customer from Greece, who experienced a dhai, brother, puja for the first time.
I think it was rather overwhelming for him with all the different steps in the ritual, but he is a cool guy.

Here Mahesh, the middle brother, gets his chakra tikka.

As every year Tihar is the most busy, fun and light festival of the year and this year it was exciting to see three different dhai pujas, but it's the same as we celebrate Christmas. Every household has it's own traditions, but there are some common elements.