Jud-Sheetal festival being celebrated in Mithila region

The Jud-sheetal festival is being celebrated in the Mithila region of Madhesh province today. The Jud-Sheetal festival is celebrated along with the beginning of the new year as per the Bikram Sambat calendar.

On 2nd of Baisakh in the lunar calendar, under the festival, it is a customary practice for the elders of the family to pour water on the heads of the younger ones and bless them with good health and long life. Jud-sheetal is one of the few festivals in Mithila where the family deities are worshipped.

All the food dishes cooked during this festival are offer to the family deities. Emphasis is placed on the use of curd in this festival, which is celebrated in the midst of rising summer. The main message of this festival celebrated by all caste and creed in Mithila is mutual harmony and cooperation.

Nathuni Mahato, an 85-year-old farmer of Pashupatinagar in Bardibas-9, says that this is an agricultural festival as favorable time for farming throughout the year is wished during this festival.