TEEJ
                                                 
                                   Teej is a generic name for a number of Hindu festivals that are celebrated by women mainly in Nepal and some parts of India. Hartalika Teej welcomes the monsoon season and is celebrated primarily by girls and women, with songs, dancing and prayer rituals. The monsoon festivals of Teej are primarily dedicated to Goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva.


                                                                        Teej refers to the monsoon festivals, observed particularly in western and northern states of India, Nepal, and in some Southern states of India such a Telangana. The festivals celebrate the bounty of nature, arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals and customs.

The festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with henna-coloured hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foods, and playing under trees on swings on Haryali Teej.

The festivals are dedicated, in many parts of India and Nepal, to Parvati.  

        Haryali teej

                                                     Haryali Teej is celebrated on the third day of the bright half of the North Indian Lunar month of Shraavana. As Shraavana (or Saawan) month falls during monsoon or rainy season when the surroundings become green, the Shraavana Teej is also called Hariyali Teej (Green Teej). A fast is kept and the focus is the moon.

The Hariyali Teej festival is also celebrated to remember the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the day when Lord Shiva accepted Goddess Parvati as his wife. Goddess Parvati fasted and was austere for many years and was accepted by Lord Shiva as his wife in her 108 birth. Goddess Parvati is also known as Teej Mata.

Sindhara Teej: On Teej festival married daughters receive the gifts by her mother such clothes, bangles, bindi, mehandi etc. "Ghewar" a special sweet is given to her on this day. These gifts are known as Sindhara.

Observance in India of Haryali Teej

The traditional areas of celebration are: Punjab region and Rajasthan.

                                

                                  Punjab region

                    

                        The festival is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Giddha dance Teeyan Punjab

Punjab

Teej is known as teeyan in Punjab and is seen as a seasonal festival which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon. The festival is celebrated by women of all faiths, and lasts from the third day of the bright half of the lunar month of Sawan as per the Punjabi calendar to the full moon of Sawan (about 13 days). Teeyan involves women getting together and performing Gidda, married women visiting their families and receiving gifts. It is also traditional for women to ride on swings.