Today, communities across the nation are celebrating Laxmi Puja, a significant festival dedicated to the Hindu goddess of wealth, Laxmi. Observed on the third day of the Tihar festival, Laxmi Puja holds a special place in the hearts of devotees. This year, the five-day festival of Tihar, also known as Yamapanchak, began on Wednesday, marking a time of devotion, cultural traditions, and joyous celebrations.
Laxmi Puja is celebrated with fervor, as families honor Laxmi with the hope of welcoming prosperity into their homes. Throughout the day, people clean their homes and surroundings, light butter lamps, and decorate their houses with lights, symbolizing an invitation for the goddess to grace their homes. According to traditional beliefs, Goddess Laxmi detests untidy surroundings, and a clean home is seen as an invitation for her blessings.
The night of Laxmi Puja is also called Sukha Ratri, or the “night of happiness,” as it is believed that the goddess herself visits each clean and illuminated household. Devotees often decorate their homes with footprint signs from the courtyard to the main altar, symbolizing the goddess’s entry into their home.
A unique cultural aspect of the celebration involves young girls performing bhailo, a traditional song and dance custom, during the evening festivities. Moving from house to house in the neighborhood, they sing and dance to bhailo songs, spreading cheer. House owners, especially mothers, express their appreciation by giving the performers gifts, including paddy, rice grain, garlands, money, and sel roti – a traditional fried bread made with rice flour and ghee. This exchange is believed to bring blessings from the goddess upon the household.
The evening culminates with the lighting of homes and courtyards, symbolizing the illumination brought by Goddess Laxmi. For some, Laxmi Puja also involves worshipping cows in the morning as part of family traditions.
As Laxmi Puja is celebrated across the nation today, people continue to observe these age-old customs with devotion, spreading joy, blessings, and prosperity into their lives.
Source: RSS