| Khicha Puja (Kukur Tihar) | |
|---|---|
 Dog bedecked with flower garlands | |
| Official name | कुकुर तिहार |
| Also called | Festival of Dogs |
| Type | Religious |
| Significance | honors the loyalty of dogs and their role as companions and protectors |
| Celebrations | Honouring dogs |
| Observances | Prayers and religious rituals |
| Date | Kārtika māsakṛṣṇa pakṣachaturdashi tithi |
| Frequency | Annual |
Khicha Puja (also calledKukur Tihar,Narak Chaturdashi,Nepali:कुकुर तिहार) is an annual festival originating fromNepal which falls on the second day of the festival ofSwanti orTihar (around October or November). The second day of Swanti or Tihar, called Khicha Puja or Kukur Tihar, is dedicated to the worship of dogs. On this day, people worship dogs to pleaseYama, thegod of death, as they are considered to be his messengers. Dogs are decorated with shina ortilaka and wear flower garlands around their necks. Worshippers offer them various foods including meat, milk, eggs, and dog food. It is considered asin if someone acts disrespectfully to a dog on this day.
Khicha puja is also celebrated worldwide by theNepalese diaspora.
Tihar is a five-day-long Hindu festival originating from Nepal; it is the second-largest festival in the country, afterDashain.[3][4][5] Kukur Tihar is celebrated on the second day of Tihar.[4][6] During the festival of Tihar, many animals including cows and crows are also worshipped.[7][8]
In the ancientSanskrit epicMahabharata, the fivePandavas on their way to heaven are accompanied by a dog.[9] The five Pandavas with their wifeDraupadi and brothers climb theHimalayas; all of them exceptYudhishthira and his dog perishing along the way.[10] ThenYudhishthira meetsIndra,King of the gods, who welcomes him to heaven but tells him he has to leave his dog behind.[10][11] Yudhishthira refuses to enter heaven without his dog and says he will go back to earth.[10][12][13] The dog disappears and it is replaced byYama, thegod of death; Indra is impressed by his actions and then hisrighteousness opens the gates of heaven for Yudhishthira.[10][11]
InHindu mythology, Yama has two dogs—Shyama andSharvara—who guard the door of hell.[14] Nepali Hindus believe that by worshipping dogs they start to see death positively, because a dog follows them in their final journey.[15] They hope that dogs will guard them against the torture in hell.[15] Dogs are considered to be a companion of Yama and to please him, dogs are worshipped.[4][16]
According toABC Science, dogs might have been first domesticated inNepal andMongolia.[17]
| Explanatory note on Hindu festival dates | |
|---|---|
TheHindu calendar is lunisolar but most festival dates are specified using the lunar portion of the calendar. A lunar day is uniquely identified by three calendar elements:māsa (lunar month),pakṣa (lunar fortnight) andtithi (lunar day). Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz.amānta /pūrṇimānta. If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. A lunar year is shorter than a solar year by about eleven days. As a result, most Hindu festivals occur on different days in successive years on the Gregorian calendar. | |
Tihar is celebrated around October or November every year.[18] During the festival, dogs are worshipped, bathed, and decorated withtilaka, which is made fromkumkuma orgulal powders with rice and yoghurt.[15][19] Flower garlands are draped around their necks and they are offered food including meat, milk, eggs, and dog food.[4] Police dogs and stray dogs are also honoured.[20] Kukur Tihar also celebrates the relationship between dogs and humans.[21] It is considered a sin if someone behaves disrespectfully to a dog on this day.[22]
The Kukur Tihar festival has been adopted in the United States, with the first "Kukur Tihar USA - Day of the Dog Celebration"[23] taking place on October 27, 2024, at James Long Park in Haymarket, Virginia. Event founder Jewan "Jack" Tiwari announced the festival would be celebrated annually in the U.S. on the last Sunday of October[24][25]
Following this schedule, the second annual celebration was held on October 26, 2025. The 2025 event, which featured the traditional blessing ceremony, received a formal commendation from the office of U.S. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam for its role in promoting cultural exchange and community compassion.[26]
After theApril 2015 Nepal earthquake, Animal Nepal used the occasion of the festival to promote awareness about dogs who became homeless.[20]The Kathmandu Post reported that people were buying foreign breeds of dogs which left the local dogs in the streets.[27]
Kukur Tihar spread aroundMexico in 2016 to make people aware of respecting animals.[28]Special Broadcasting Service reported that many Nepalis inAustralia were also celebrating the festival.[29][30] In 2008. Asian Art in London celebrated the festival by creating a dog walk charity event.[31] Also in 2016,Kathmandu Metropolitan City with the help ofHumane Society International and Jane Goodall Institute Nepal created a program to "humanely manage urban dog population".[32] Aneducational assessment done by International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM Coalition) found that dogs in thecapital of Nepal were "generally healthy and accepted by the community".[33]
In 2018, a dog named Kushal was named "The Best Dog of the Year" by theNepal Police on the occasion of the festival after the dog helped discover the murderer of a 10-year-old girl.[34]
After the ChineseLychee and Dog Meat Festival, in which festival-goers eatdog meat andlychees, garnered international outrage,One Green Planet described Kukur Tihar as "[it] will restore your faith in humanity".[35] People on social media contrasted the Chinese festival with Kukur Tihar andThe Dodo reported that "[it gave] heartbroken dog lovers a reason to feel hopeful again".[36] In a 2016 newspaper article, the President of Animal Nepal appealed to Nepalis "to take a pledge this Kukur Tihar, to not just worship your pets on this day but to do the right thing for them all year round. Unchain and uncage your dogs, learn to interact with them, take them for walks, understand their feelings, …"[37] A 2007BBC photo essay also pointed out the need to improve the treatment of Nepali dogs which, "during the rest of the year, are not generally well treated..."[38]
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