KATHMANDU: Tihar is being celebrated with pomp and grandeur. The third day of Yamapanchak or Tihar festival is being celebrated by worshipping Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, affluence and prosperity, this evening.

On the day of Laxmi Puja, people decorate their houses with flower garlands, diyos (traditional oil lamps), clean their houses and surroundings, and illuminate their homes to invite the goddess to their homes, in the belief that the goddess Laxmi abhors the house which is untidy. Meanwhile, people were seen buying flower garlands in the market today.

The night of Laxmi Puja is also known as Sukha Ratri, meaning the night of happiness as it is believed that Goddess Laxmi comes to reside in the house on this special night. To ‘welcome’ the goddess in the house, devotees make the footprint signs from their courtyard up to the main altar where the goddess is worshipper amidst all kinds of rituals.