SAAT PHERA

 MEANING OF SAAT PHERA 

(7 holy round around fire in Hindu Marriage)

1. In the first phera (holy round around fire), the couple prays to God for plenty of nourishing and pure food.
   They pray to God to let them walk together so that they will get food.

2. In the second holy round, the couple prays to God for a healthy and prosperous life.
   They ask for the physical, spiritual and mental health from God.

3. In the third holy round the couple prays to God for wealth. They ask God for the strength for both of them so that they can share the happiness and pain together.
  
4. In the fourth holy round the couple prays to God for the increase in love and respect for each other and their respective families.

5. In the fifth holy round bride and groom together pray for the beautiful, heroic and noble children from God.

6. In the sixth holy round the couple asks for the peaceful long life with each other.

7. In the final seventh round the couple prays to god for companionship, togetherness, loyalty and understanding between themselves. They ask God to make them friends and give the maturity to carry out the friendship for lifetime.The husband says to his new wife that now they have become friends after the Seven holy round around fire and they will not break their friendship in life. 

City Lights at Deepawali

Tihar also known as Deepawali in terai region of Nepal is a five-day-long Hindu and Buddhist  festival celebrated in Nepal which comes soon after Dashain Similar to Deepawali, where one day is celebrated for goddess Laxmi and the other one is celebrated to worship brothers for their long life. However, all ethnic groups celebrate this festival. Among the Newars it is known as Swanti. The festival is celebrated from Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna to Katrik Shukla Dwitiya every year. The name Tihar means the festival of lights, where many candles are lit both inside and outside the houses to make it bright at night. The five-day festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like crow, cow and dog, who maintain an intense relationship with the humans. People make things outside of their house, called "Rangoli" in Nepali & Hindi, to make their Home look attractive & beautiful at night.