Canada’s Nepalese communities cancel Teej festivals after deadly Nepal floods

Nepalese community organizations across the country cancelled annual cultural festivals over the weekend following the devastating flash flooding that struck Nepal and China. This weekend would normally be the annual Teej festival, a Hindu practice celebrating womanhood. Organizers across the country, in cities including Toronto, Brampton and Calgary, cancelled celebrations in light of the disaster.Punam Dhungel, president of the Nepali Canadian Women’s Society of B.C., said her organization canceled their sold-out event for the first time ever.“It is a time where women to come together, pray, fast, sing, dance and celebrate their tradition,” she said. “We were excited. We were planning for like over two months, and it was a hard decision, but the situation happened to Nepal and we felt this is not the right time to celebrate.”Her group decided to redirect their $15,000 in ticket sales from some 300 people to humanitarian relief efforts. Story continues below advertisement “Now the main thing is how to support the victims in Nepal. They are suffering, they’re crying, people are mourning and we cannot just celebrate … so we just decided, OK, let’s cancel for now and support the vict...