Laxmi Puja being celebrated today

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 31: Laxmi Puja, a day dedicated to the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity, and affluence, is being celebrated across the country today, October 31.

Laxmi Puja, which normally falls on the third day of the Tihar festival, also known as Yama Panchak, is being held on the second day this year. The festival of Tihar began on Wednesday.

In keeping with tradition, devotees worship goddess Laxmi this evening, by cleaning and illuminating their homes to 'invite' her and seek her blessings. People believe the goddess favors tidy and well-kept spaces, prompting households to clean thoroughly, decorate with lights, and light butter lamps in her honor.

Tonight, known as Sukha Ratri or 'the night of happiness,' is believed to be the time when goddess Laxmi visits homes. To welcome her, devotees create small footprints from their courtyards to the main altar, symbolizing her path into the house.

In the evening, teenage girls from the neighborhood perform 'bhailo' songs, going house to house singing and dancing in celebration. In return, families gift them paddy, rice grains, flower garlands, money, and 'sel roti,' a traditional rice-flour delicacy fried in ghee. This gesture is thought to bring blessings from the goddess to the household.

Alongside these rituals, homes are adorned with electric lights and butter lamps, and in some families, the cow is also worshipped in the morning as part of the tradition. 

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