Teeyan da mela is a festival that honours women. It is the Punjabi term for the Teej festival, which is celebrated in Chandigarh, Punjab’s capital, and Haryana, where it is also known as Haryali Teej and is dedicated to young girls and sisters. Women celebrate the celebration from the third day of the lunar month of Sawan on the superb half, through to the full moon of Sawan, in the middle of the tempest season. Married women visit their mothers to celebrate the festivities. It used to be customary for ladies to spend the entire month of Sawan with their families.
Whether or not a married woman visits her people, kin sends a’sandhara’ gift set to their sisters. A Gandhara is a piece of clothing that includes a Punjabi sari, laddoo, bangles, mehndi henna, and a swing. The celebration ‘Teej’ is named after a little red bug known as ‘Teej,’ which appears during the monsoon season. Teej has been spotted for a long time. As per Hindu mythology, this day commemorates Maa Parvati’s arrival as Shiva’s consort at his residence. Teej represents a Hindu woman’s love, dedication, and respect for her spouse, as Ma Parvati took 108 years of penance over multiple incarnations to win over Lord Shiva.
History
The definition of the phrase “TEEYAN,” pronounced “tee-aan” in Punjabi, is a “celebration of a prosperous and beautiful married life.” The newlywed females return to their parents’ residence to celebrate this celebration with their friends and usher in the monsoon season. Typically, a fair is prepared for this occasion, where they can enjoy swing rides. This is a period when women in rural areas enjoy themselves by purchasing bead necklaces, bangles, and bindis, applying henna Mehandi on their feet and hands, and eating delectable foods.
Teeyan festival is associated with happiness, wealth, and enjoyment. On this extremely religious and cheerful holiday, Indian women and young newlywed girls come together to celebrate and make happy for the start of the rainy season.
Teeyan Dance
Teeyan is the Punjab region’s women’s dancing festival. During the ceremonies, Giddha is at its most beautiful. The dancing normally takes place on the bank of the river or pond under a large shade of trees during the month of Sawan, when the days of summer have grown lengthier and warmer. Swings are hung from the branches, and people begin singing, swinging, and dancing to the tunes that fill the air.
They can sing songs and express themselves while swinging. The event lasts until the full moon on the third lunar day of the month. Every day of the festival is greeted with vim and excitement.
Kikli is a female-only dance genre that is also performed at the Teeyan festival. They cross their arms and grasp each other’s hands while playing this song. They chant traditional melodies in circles, making them go round and round. This dance is also performed by two-girl pairs who form rings by holding hands in a cross with their friends. This dance is sometimes performed by four girls joining hands. Kikli is seen as a lighthearted dance that is more akin to a game than a dance. It is extremely popular among young women.
How is the teeyan festival celebrated?
Teej festivals in communities are likewise brimming with joy and vigour. Teej rites are carried out by women and girls jointly. Females swing on peengs, which are decorated swings, after adorning their feet and hands with exquisite Mehendi designs.
On Teej, women dedicate the Gidda dance to their future husbands. These Teej dances, which are accompanied by songs, represent ladies who are willing to give their life for their lovers and who offer prayers for their spouses’ well-being following the dances. Teeyan or Teej fairs are elaborate affairs with stores and stalls selling all of the traditional wares.
Teeyan, also known as Teej, is a popular drink in northern India, particularly in Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Orissa.
On this day, married women receive gifts and clothing from their fathers and other male relatives. Every year, the ladies of Chandigarh look forward to celebrating ‘TEEYAN’ and begin preparing for the festival well in advance for competitions such as Charkha (spinning wheel), Giddha Dance (known as the sister of Bhangra), Bholiyan (couplets), Mehendi (Henna) art, Sidhni (mockery), and Miss Teeyan’s crown. On this day, the women dress up in their nicest clothes, complete with traditional jewellery, and gather in one spot to commemorate the occasion, creating an image of beauty and colour.
Women begin getting their new outfits made and shopping for new traditional jewellery and other preparations for the celebration far too early. For the occasion, married daughters visit their parents. It was once customary for ladies to spend the entire Sawan month with their parents.
Girls and women meet in parks or green neighbourhoods and hang swings from trees, where they dance, laugh, and sing a variety of traditional Punjabi dances known as Gidha Boliyan. It’s the ideal approach for them to forget about their troubles and problems and spend quality time with their buddies.
If a woman does not go to her parent’s residence, her brothers nonetheless bring a ‘Sandhara’ gift set to her sister. Sandara used to include items such as suits, traditional phulkari, Peepe Wale Biscuits (baked biscuits), Ladoo, bangles, mehndi, and a swing, which were then dispersed throughout the area. This ritual is still followed in several parts of Punjab and beyond.
Punjabis, regardless of where they would be, never skip a festival or celebration. The Teeyan holiday is also celebrated in a big way by Punjabis in other nations.
“Teeyan Da Mela” is a whole event for females in Canada. It is usually commemorated in parks. Choosing what to wear, picking where to go to Teeyan da Mela, and determining the ticket fee to join the event are all thrilling aspects of this seasonal celebration.
So now you know the importance of the festival “Teeyan” in Punjab and how exactly it is celebrated.
![Kattenstoet (illuminating the "Cat Festival") is an exhibition in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to cats. It has been held every second Sunday in May since 1955. Most recently, the 45th program took place on May 13, 2018. The exhibition is reminiscent of the Ypres Middle Ages, where cats were thrown from the buffalo tower of the Fabric Hall to the town square below. How it all started- There are various myths about how cats were thrown. It is also possible that cats were involved in witchcraft, and the throwing of cats symbolized the killing of evil spirits. The last recorded event of its kind was in 1817. Another story suggests that cats were brought to the Cloth Hall (Lakenhallen) to control pests. Prior to the modern methods of heating and storage, when cold, wool was stored on the upper floors of the Fabric Hall. Early in the spring heat, after the wool had been sold, the cats were thrown out of the iron tower. Modern festival Figuratively reviving the practice at parade ceremonies, the jester throws baby toy cats from Cloth Hall belfry to the crowd, waiting with simple hands to catch one. The throwing of cats from the bench is followed by the burning of a fake witch. Participants in ceremonies often dress like cats, witches, mice, or city dwellers from years past, and the festival also features brass bands and horsemen. About 2,000 people took part in the 2012 show. [5] The festival is a popular tourism event in Belgium and has helped strengthen the local tourism economy near Ypres. 8,000 people visited the event in 2000. For the past 60 years, the city of Ypres in Belgium has had a famous "Cat Parade" that attracts visitors from all over the country. Kattenstoet, or "Cat Festival", is held once every three years and mainly includes parades featuring images of big cats, brass bands, marchers, and horsemen. Fun lovers dress like cats, witches, or mice and march through the city to enjoy the crowds. Although everything is gay and fun now, the origins of Kattenstoet are very dark. Back in the Middle Ages, people were not kind to animals and cats in particular. Many Western European cities at the time engaged in cat-eating rituals in which people gathered cats in a net or rope and hoisted them high into the air over a huge fire. Cats were thought to carry evil spirits along with the Devil himself. So while the poor animals cry out in pain, the crowd roars with laughter. After the animals were burned, the mob gathered charcoal and fire ashes to bring them home. In the city of Ypres, cats are used as victims in many folkloristic games. In those days, Ypres, like many cities in the Flanders region of Belgium, had a reputation for its textile industry. Wool was imported into England, and it was woven into fine clothes by highly skilled craftsmen. Both wool and finished products were stored in the Fabric Hall, one of the largest commercial buildings of the time. But the fabric attracted rats, chewing on the fabric and producing unhealthy values. To control the number of rats, textile traders in Ypres brought in their natural predator, the cat. But cats also breed and soon there were more cats than the city could afford. Thus began the killing of cats. This was a time when cats were considered a symbol of evil, and there was nothing more pleasing to the people of the town than throwing an animal into the metal tower of a local church. When business was not going well, people were sure that there were always a few extra cats thrown out of the window. In time, the killings became a ritual, occurring on 'Cat Wednesday', in the second week of Lent. The pagan practice continued until 1817 when the last massacre took place. The last cat reportedly survived the fall and fled shortly before being caught again. From then until World War I, Cats' Day was celebrated with the sound of church bells ringing. In 1938, a group of young boys from the altar organized a kind of cat show. Each had a toy cat. When they got to church they started having a party and then one of the boys climbed on the bell and threw the cat toys on the floor. The 'Cat Festival' lasted mainly a local festival until the 1950's when folkloristic parades became a new phenomenon throughout West Flanders. On the second Sunday of Lent in 1955, the first beautiful exhibition was organized with 1,500 others, all dressed in fine clothes. Since then, every three years the city has been celebrating the Cat Festival.](https://www.sikhheros.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/kattenstoet-ypres-32-150x150.jpg "The Cat Throwing Festival - Kattenstoet")
