A dog celebrating Kukur Tihar. Photo found on Wikicommons with original URL at https://flickr.com/photos/87621604@N00/4060277264 and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Happy Kukur Tihar!
November 14, 2020 is the 2nd
day of the Tihar festival in Nepal. This
day is called Kukur Tihar and is dedicated to celebrating dogs, humanity’s oldest
and most loyal animal companion!
A Kukur Tihar dog. Photo found on Wikicommons with original URL at https://flickr.com/photos/87621604@N00/4060277264 and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Tihar is The Festival of Lights and is also known as Diwali, Deepavali, and Divali. The festival is rooted in Hinduism; however, it was adopted by others as well, such as the Indian Sikhs who celebrate it as a strictly secular holiday. Indian Jains use it to celebrate the founder of Jainism, Lord Mahavira. Hindus also celebrate the holiday in various ways depending on their region. While most of India worships Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) during the festival, in Bengal they worship Kali (goddess of death, time, and feminine energy).
In Nepal, dogs are given the royal treatment on Kukur Tihar – they are worshipped and given delicious food and garlands.
In Nepal, dogs are given the royal treatment on Kukur Tihar – they are worshipped and given delicious food and garlands.
Diwali celebration display. Photo found in the public domain.
The Hindu goddess Kali, Devourer of Time. Photo in the public domain, found at https://www.metmuseum.org/ .
Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of Wealth. Photo in the public domain, found at https://www.metmuseum.org/ .
Indian Diwali lamp. Photo found in the public domain.
Hindu practitioners in Bhaktapur (also known as Khwopa) in Nepal. Bhaktapur is also called the City of Temples and is located in the Kathmandu Valley. Photo found in the public domain.
Bhaktapur, Nepal - the City of Temples. Photo found in the public domain.
Indian lamps. Photo found in the public domain.
My dog Star and me. Star will be 8 years old in March.
“Kukur Tihar, the festival of dogs, being celebrated.” www.msn.com
MacDonald, Margaret Read, Editor. The Folklore of World Holidays, First Edition. Gale Research Inc., 1992.
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