Dogs Honored In Annual Festival By People In Nepal For Their Loyalty And Friendship

The world needs more of doggo appreciation

Ayoub

• Published in Animal Stories
• August 21, 2020

No all global news about dogs is good dog news, but this is excellent dg news! It all starts with the traditional Hindu “festival of lights, Diwali.

A yearly festival that takes place in the fall, this special time is celebrated by millions of Hindus across the world where people exchange gifts, host big parties, and decorate with lights. Nepalese locals know it as Tihar, but there's a specific day where everything is set aside to celebrate dogs and thank them for their loyalty and friendship.

That day for dogs is called Kukur Tihar (or Khicha Puja) and it takes place on the second day of the festival.  Dogs are celebrated on that day by giving dogs colorful flower garlands and applying a mark on their heads called tika.

People also share the best food with the dogs. Check out all the pawesome details about this unique Dog festival below!

Each element of the ceremony has a different meaning, the garlands are a symbol of reverence and bonding, while the red powder is a representation of sacredness. Having a dog in your life is a life-changing experience, so these people aren't exaggerating at all.

Dogs have a deep meaning in Hinduism and many Hindus believe that adopting and treating dogs well will help them get to heaven. The Hindu god Bhairava had Shvan, the dog, as mount or vahana.

Yudhishthira was even escorted by a dog into heaven in the Hindu Mahabharata.

Seeing dogs being celebrated this way really warms my heart. The pictures that were taken on this special day are quite precious.

I hope this inspires people to do more special things for their dogs and celebrate them whenever they can.

Ayoub