Teej festival is a generic name for a number of festivals that are celebrated by women mainly in Nepal and some parts of India. Hartalika Teej welcomes the monsoon season and is celebrated primarily by girls and women, with songs, dancing and prayer rituals. The monsoon festivals of Teej are primarily dedicated to Goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva.

Teej refers to the monsoon festivals, observed particularly in western and northern states of India, Nepal, and in some Southern states of India such a Telangana. The festivals celebrate the bounty of nature, arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals and customs.

The festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with henna-colored hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foods, and playing under trees on swings on Haryali Teej.

The festivals are dedicated, in many parts of India and Nepal, to Parvati.

Teej Festival Poem: Dr. Ram Sharma

Man to support woman,
to carry swings to long distance,

Chanting hymns with music,
reign of greenery everywhere,

Women are gathering,
from all corners,

New clothes, new ornaments, new zeal
mixed with nature

hue and cry everywhere
Nature is worshiped
all the day.

∼ Dr. Ram Sharma