The Nepal Calendar Determination Development Committee, the official body for deciding the dates and times of festivals celebrated in the country, has announced the auspicious time for Bhai Tika this year.
While it can be can be observed throughout the day next Sunday, November 3, 11:37 AM would be auspicious, according to the committee.
The ritual, on the last day of the Tihar festival, celebrates the bond between brother and sister.
On this day, sisters anoint the heads of their brothers with mustard oil and also draw a trail of the oil around the place where they are seated. The circle symbolises the protective barrier. The sisters then offer the brothers tika and garlands of marigold and globe amaranth flowers as well as 'dubo' (or doob grass).
After placing colourful tika on the foreheads of their brothers, sisters offer them a treat consisting of sweets, walnuts, spices and 'Sel Roti', a sweet ring-shaped bread made by deep frying the dough of rice flour in oli.
Brothers also offer their sisters tika and give them presents in return, wishing them happiness and good luck.
The occasion commemorates a legend in which a sister wins a boon from "Yama", the deity of death, that her brother would not die until the mustard oil dries up and the garlands wilt.
Those who do not have brothers or sisters of their own observe the ceremony with those whom they regard as their siblings.
Executive Director of the Committee Surya Prasad Dhungel said that the meeting on Monday, October 28, has also decided that the Kija Puja observed by the Newar community should be held on the same day, reported RSS, the state-owned news agency.
RSS