Festivals of Nepal

Nepal Festival

Nepal not only has the land of mountains; it also includes the land of festivals. People of Nepal celebrate more than 50 festivals in Nepal every year. The festivals of Nepal have fixed dates; religious festivals are set by astrologers on the basis of the lunar calendar. The people celebrate the festivals with the same enthusiasm and galore which is the best and good the as it was established hundreds of years ago when people did not have other means of entertainment.

Dashain (VijayaDashami):

During the month of late September and early October, the Nepali people the biggest festival of the year Dashain is celebrated. Dashain is celebrated the longest day and it is the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by people of all caste and creed throughout the country. The Dashain is celebrated fifteen days of that occur during the bright lunar fortnight end with the day of the full moon. Throughout every place of Nepal the goddess Durga in all her manifestations are worshiped with abundant offerings and sacrificing the thousands of animal as the people believe that the ritual is done for holy bathing, so they drench the goddess days in blood. Dashain is celebrated for a great victory of the gods over the evil demons. It is told that lord Ram succeeds in the battle after the goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration is done through the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon that terrorized the entire world in the guise of a brutal water buffalo. The first nine days tells that there was dangerous the nine days of fight between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day where the demon was killed and the last five days defines the celebration of the winning the battle with demon through the blessing of the goddess. Dashain is celebrated with happiness, and people worshiped goddess Durga throughout the Nepal by considering the divine mother goddess. Dashain is prepared by cleansing the every home and inviting the mother goddess so that she visit and bless the house with good fortune,

Tihar:

This is the festival of lights that is celebrated between October/November and we can say Tihar is the second biggest festival after Dashain. This is celebrated for five days and people worship Laxmi who is the Goddess of Wealth. People clean and decorate their houses on the belief that Goddess Laxmi will enter the house and similarly the people lit candles, oil lamps and other lights and the whole place looks illuminating. In this, five day of we worship the crows, dogs and cows and they are honored with vermilion, garland and delicious food for everything they do in the lives of humans. Crows are known as the messenger which brings the news even at the times when there was no system if postmen and no postal services. Dogs are the considered as the most obedient animals and they guard our house from being rob as true guardians. Cow is known as the symbol of wealth in Hinduism and we considered the national animal of Nepal. During Tihar, the Newari community in Nepal also prepares the Mha puja also known as a ritual for worshipping their own body and life. This day is also known as the Newari New Year which is also called Nepal Samba.

Teej:

The Teej is celebrated by Hindu married woman’s day for their man life. This festival falls on the August/September. Women will wear the beautiful red saris with shining glass beads, they sing and dance almost everywhere in Nepal at the time of the festival of Teej. On this day women do fast and they worship Lord Shiva for the long, healthy and prosperous life of their husbands and their families. The unmarried women also celebrate this festival with the hope that they also get a chance in marrying the good husbands. From early morning the women stand in the different lines in Pashupatinath temple for offering their prayers to Lord Shiva. Teej is a three-day-long festival in Nepal and each day has its own significance.

• Dar Din

The Teej first day in Nepal is also known as the 'Dar Din'. On this day, the group of women who had dressed in the finest clothed meet at one place and they perform dance and sing devotional songs. A special food called is eaten on this day. The women celebrate till midnight after which the 24-hour-long fast starts.

• Fasting Day

The second day of the Teej festival is worshiped and done prayers to the god by women. The holy Pashupatinath temple will be full by women and they offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Women gather in the temple and worship the god with flowers, sweets and coins. Lighting of an oil lamp is an essential part of this ceremony. People believe that the oil lamp must be kept lit all night to avoid bad omen.

• Rishi Panchami

Rishi Panchami is celebrated on the third day of the Teej. On this day, the seven sages of the Hindu pantheon are worshiped by women who believe that worshipping tends to cleanse all sins of the previous year. Womenfolk take a holy bath with red mud found on the roots of the sacred bush, along with its leaves.

New Year:

The New Year is also called Nava versa in Nepal. Nepal has its own calendar which starts from the first day of the first month Baisakh. This day is known as the Nepali New Year which that falls under the second week of April. People go to picnics they met in group and start get-togethers and celebrate the day socializing in different ways as this day is also a national holiday. The New Year for the Tibetans and Sherpas who live in Nepal falls in February. The Boudhanath and Swayambhunath that are located in the Kathmandu are decorated with eye-catching colorful prayer flags and they are pulled from the crowd. The traditional dances and welcome of New Year with feasts and family gatherings wearing all the new clothes and finest jewelry and exchanging gifts are done in the New Year.

Saraswati Puja:

Saraswati Puja is a day which is celebrated on the day which is the birthday of Saraswati – the Goddess of Learning. In this day the students in school worship their pens and books for pleasing the Goddess and ask her favor for their studies so that they can be wise and knowledgeable. People also worship the idol of Goddess Saraswati, especially in Swayambhunath and give goddess flowers, sweets, fruits, etc. This is the day when the kids are taught for reading and writing and people write on the stones and slabs with chalks and pencils. The Saraswati Puja is done between January/February and it is regarded as a very auspicious day for marriages too as people think that the Goddess herself blesses the couples. Normally the astrologers are a person in Nepal fix the marriage date and time.

Shivaratri (Maha Shivaratri):

Shivaratri or the night of Lord Shiva is one of the major festivals of Nepal that usually occurs in January and February. In this day we worship to the Lord of the Lords – Lord Shiva who used to live in the Himalayas. Lord Shiva is one of the most popular and most respected Gods in the Hindu religion. More than one hundred thousand of Hindu come from India in the festival and gather in and around Pashupatinath temple which is considered as one of the holiest shrines of the Hindus in Kathmandu to pay their homage to Lord Shiva on his birthday. “Pashupatinath” is also known as the Lord of animals and people considered Lord Shiva as the guardian and protector of all things that we can see in the Himalayan Kingdom. On this holy day, people who come to worship bath in the holy river at early dawn and they fast for the day and stay around fire for keeping them warm as it occurs in the winter in Nepal. The people use the marijuana and other intoxicating substances as people believe such things will make Lord Shiva happy and marijuana use is legal only on this sacred day.

Holi:

Holi is the festival of water and colors that occur between February/March and it is also called as “Phagu” in Nepal. This day is celebrated for the extermination of female demon Holika who tried to kill the king son Pralhad who was the ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. This day the young people go on the streets together with friends in a group on foot or vehicles by taking the different colors smeared all over them and the people in houses make merry throwing colors and water balloons and play together with each other and also to the people who walk on the streets.

Ghode Jatra:

This festival is celebrated in March/April and a grand horse festival is shown in a place at Tundikhel. This festival has not much of religious aspects but different people from outside Kathmandu flock around Kathmandu to see the horse race and other exciting sports activities that the army perform in the presence of the President.

Buddha Jayanti:

The birth of Buddha anniversary falls every year on May in Nepal. On this day people goes to the Swayambhunath and Boudhanath for paying the homage to Lord Buddha and also visit the birthplace of Buddha’s and chant prayers and burn butter lamps. Lord Buddha was the Prince but he did not use the luxurious life after realizing the misery of mankind and he was in search of enlightenment.

Gai Jatra (Cow Festival):

This festival of cow falls every year on August/September. The popular festival in Nepal is cow festival and this festival includes the humor, satire, comedy, mockery and shades of sadness too at the same time. And on this day satires and jokes are legal for performing on anyone. The family who has lost a relative during the past one year must take part in a procession and the young boys must be like a cow and have to walk through the streets of Kathmandu lead by a cow. Cow is also known as the Goddess and it is also considered as the national animal of Nepal. This festival also purges many people if they had lost their loved ones as they can console themselves as they are not the only ones who have been bereaved and it also provides the knowledge for accepting the death as a part of life.

Krishna Janmashtami:

This day is the birth anniversary of Lord Sri Krishna which people believe that it is the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu which is celebrated sometime in August/September. All the worshipper of lord Krishna assemble in Krishna Temple, the ancient Krishna Temple that is located in the Patan Durbar Square and other temples with the idol of Sri Krishna and people pray, offer flowers, food, sweets and chant hymns too.

References

Flippo, Edwin B. Personnel Management. London: Oxford Press, 1980.

Gynwal, Ram Prasad. Know Nepal. Kathmandu: Bhundipuran Prakashan, 2012.

Hamilton, Francis B. An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal. New Delhi: Manjushri Publishing House, 1971.

Heywood, Andrew. Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

http://www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/dashain.php

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