Dogs are man’s best friends, and there are good reasons why that is so. Their love is always unconditional, they’re always happy to see us, they’re not too demanding and they give meaning to even the most meaningless things in life.

If you like dogs, there’s an event that celebrates dogs and their love for us humans. In Nepal, people have a special day when they show gratitude to these four-legged friends for their love and friendship that they unconditionally give us.

In India, every fall, Diwali or “the festival of lights” is celebrated by millions of people. During Diwali, in Nepal, there’s a special day called Kukur Tihar or Kukur Puja that is specifically dedicated to dogs. The whole celebration lasts five days, the second day is dedicated to our loyal friends, the dogs.

It doesn’t matter if the dog is a pet or it is a stray dog, all of them are treated the same way. On that day, the dogs are offered different foods, they are worshiped, they are adorned with flowers around their necks and their foreheads are marked with a red powder called “tika”.

This “tika” powder shows that the dog is considered a sacred being, and all pictures of dogs fashioned this way are very heart-warming.
One reason the dogs are worshiped this way is that they are believed to be messengers of the Hindu god of death, Yama and this is a way to make the god pleased.

Dogs are also mentioned in the Hindu writings of Mahabharata where Yudhishthira, the leader of the successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War, didn’t want to ascend to heaven without taking his best puppy friend with him.

Source/photos:  BBC,  Travel And Leisure