After a joyful Dashain festival, the children returned to school for one week before being off again to celebrate Tihar, a wonderful five-day festival during which we honor crows (Kaag Tihar), dogs (Kukur Tihar), cows (Gai Tihar), Goddess Laxmi (Laxmi Puja), ourselves (Mha Puja), and brothers (Bhai Tika). This is always a special time and favorite festival for everyone at Ama Ghar, and this year we were especially fortunate to have our founder, Shrawan Nepali, back in Nepal to take part in the celebrations and blessings.
After blessing animals the first days of the festival, we prepared for the Goddess Laxmi by cleaning the house and putting everything in order. The children decorated inside the house, and outside they hung lights and created beautiful mandalas and a path to our door to welcome Goddess Laxmi’s blessings into our home. Known as the Festival of Lights, on the evening of Laxmi Puja we first went into Kathmandu to the Garden of Dreams and helped light small lamps for this beautiful park. On the trip home, we drove through the city seeing all of the incredible lighting and marigold decorations on all of the storefronts. The little ones are amazed by the decorations, and they clapped and exclaimed, “wha!” as the light displays got bigger and bigger. When we got home, we finished the path to guide Goddess Laxmi to our home and lit more lamps. After the blessing and puja, there was the inevitable gambling!
Our most beautiful event is Mha Puja, when you worship yourself. Everyone has a special place setting and offerings. As we worship ourselves, we are showered with marigold petals, and the blessing is complete! It’s a beautiful ceremony and an important reminder for the children of how special they are. Following the puja, the children danced and sang into the night. Many neighbor groups stopped by to perform in exchange for gifts and blessings, a tradition called Deusi-Bhailo. Our children also visited neighbors to perform songs and dance after Laxmi Puja and Mha Puja.
The following morning, the girls got dressed in their best outfits to place a seven-colored tika on their brothers’ foreheads for Bhai Tika. Since everyone at Ama Ghar are considered brothers and sisters, we have a very large group to be blessed! The boys then gifted money to their sisters, and the festival came to an end. Enjoy a glimpse of our celebrations below!
Kukur Tihar
Gai Tihar
Laxmi Puja
Laxmi Puja – Garden of Dreams
Mha Puja
Bhai Tika
