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Type: Multiple-Choice
Category: Text Structure
Level: Grade 8
Standards: CCRA.R.7, RI.8.7
Tags: ELA-Literacy.RI.8.7
Author: szeiger
Last Modified: 8 years ago

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Nepalese Festival of Lights


Introduction
Tihar is a five-day Nepalese festival celebrated in late autumn. Hindus around the world celebrate this festival as "festival of lights" or deepawali. Tihar is important for many reasons, including the respect shown during the festive season to the animals like the crow, cow, and dog.

Rituals and Customs
During the entire five days of Tihar, people decorate their houses with oil lamps. Thus, the festival is also known as a festival of lights. Playing cards and cleaning the house are also common during Tihar. Nepalese prepare lots of sweets for their families and also for the animals and gods worshipped in Tihar.

Worship of Crows
On the first day of the festival, crows (Kag) are offered sweets and delicacies. The offerings are meant to make crows happy so they don't caw in people's homes. Crows symbolize sadness and grief in Hindu mythologies.

Worship of Dogs
Dogs (Kukur) are worshipped once a year to celebrate their long relationship with mankind. The second day of the festival is marked by people offering garlands, sweets, and sacred color powders to dogs.

Worship of Cows and Goddess Laxmi
Cows (Gai) are revered as sacred and so is Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. On the third day of the festival, people show their respects to cows and to goddess Laxmi. In the evening, children visit people's homes to sing carols and give blessings.

Worship of Self and Cow-dung
The fourth day of the festival is especially important for the ethnic group Newars as it is the day of the worship of the self (maha). Nepalese also show respects to cow-dung (govardhan), which is used to polish mud houses.

Celebration with Brothers
On the last day of Tihar (Bhai tika), brothers and sisters celebrate their relationship. The day symbolizes the promise brothers and sisters make to protect and take care of each other.

Grade 8 Text Structure CCSS: CCRA.R.7, RI.8.7

What would be a better way to present this information?
  1. An encyclopedia entry
  2. An article in a newspaper
  3. A brochure about the festival
  4. A slideshow about Hindu culture