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[FESTIVAL OF NEPAL]
 If you plan to tour Nepal well, besides the pristine natural
beauty of the region, there are numerous colourful festivals
that you can be a witness to. Regarded as the land of
festivals, hardly a day passes without a festivity, ceremony
or pilgrimage in some part of the country. Come what may be
sure to carry lots of films.
01:
BISKET JATRA - NAVABARSHA:
14th April, 2003
Nawa Barsha is the Nepalese New Year's
Day. The national holiday is celebrated with great pomp and
pageantry. The town of
Bhaktapur marks this occasion with the weeklong procession
known as the 'Bisket Jatra'. Colourful ceremonies begin around
dusk in the temple complex of Bhairab in Taumadhi Tole. A huge
four-wheeled wooden chariot carrying the shrines of Gods
Bhairab and Bhadrakali are paraded through the town. The
residents of the eastern and western halves of the town engage
in a mammoth tug-of-war, and the winning side gets the
privilege of taking care of the deities for the next seven
days.
02: MOTHER'S DAY - Mata Tirtha Snan: 01st May 2003
One of the widely celebrated festivals, it is also called Mata
Tirtha Aunsi as it coincides with the new moon night. The
celebrations are observed on the first month of the Nepali
calendar, Baisakh (April/May).
03: BUDDHA JAYANTI: 16th May 2003
To people of the Buddhist faith, the Buddha Jayanti is thrice
blessed as it commemorates three important events in the
Buddha's life: his birth, the day he attained enlightenment,
and the day he passed into Nirvana (died).
In
Kathmandu, celebrations marking Buddha Jayanti are
concentrated in and around the Swayambhunath stupa, the most
sacred among all Buddhist monuments in Nepal. Here devotees
gather from dawn to worship and make offerings of butter
lamps, rice, coins and flowers. Religious scroll paintings (Paubha)
and images of the Buddha are put on display. An equally
fascinating place to visit during this time is Boudhanath,
where Buddha's image is mounted on an elephant and carried in
a procession encircling the stupa, before proceeding to
another stupa at Chabahil. As night falls, the Swayambhunath
stupa and monasteries are illuminated with thousands of butter
lamps.
04: RATO MACCHENDRANATH RATH JATRA: April end - First week of
May 2003
(Begins on the full moon day of Baisakh) The longest and the
most important festival of Patan, it involves several days of
ceremonies and the fabrication of a wooden-wheeled chariot at
Pulchowk, near the Ashoka Stupa. (A pillar erected by the
great Indian Emperor and follower of Buddhism, Ashoka). The
chariot bears the shrine of God Rato Macchendranath and
carries a very tall spire fabricated from special tree trunk
tied together from four ends of the chariot. It is believed
that misfortune strikes the land if the chariot overturns or
breaks down in course of celebrations, where throngs of
devotees pull the chariot through various streets every day.
As the festival ends, another equally colourful and exciting
festival Bhoto Jatra begins.
05: GURU PURNIMA: 13th July 2003
Teachers come second, after the gods, in the Hindu hierarchy
of respect. The full moon day of the month June/July is set
aside for students to pay homage to their teachers and receive
blessings from them in return. At a place called Vyas on the
Kathmandu-Pokhara highway, special worship is performed to
Maharishi Vyas, the saint who wrote the great Hindu epic,
Mahabharat. For Buddhists, the occasion (Dilla Punhi) is
sacred as the day when the Buddha-to-be entered the womb of
Queen Mayadevi. Religious functions are held at monasteries
and temples to commemorate the event.
06: GHANTA KARNA CHATURDASI: 27th July 2003
This festival celebrates the exorcism of the mythical demon
Ghantakarna. It is also called Gathemangal festival, which
falls on Trayodashi of the month Shrawan (July/August).
07: GUNLA: 30th July 2003
Gunla is a sacred month dedicated to Lord Buddha. This
festival commemorates the auspicious 'rains retreat' when
Buddha, over 2,500 years ago, led his close disciples into
solitary meditation and preached them on the essence of his
principles.
08: BHAIRAV KUMARI JATRA:
This is one of the major religious celebrations in Dolkha, a
historic town in the northeast of Nepal (133km from Kathmandu
off the highway to Tibet). The festival, which has a history
going back to more than five centuries, falls on early August,
and consists of non-stop masked dances lasting five days.
Escorted by musical bands, dancers representing the deities
Bhairav and Kumari and other gods and goddesses swirl and sway
through Dolkha, visiting its many temples. On the occasion,
devotees fast and worship Bhairav and Kumari.
09: JANAI PURNIMA - RAKSHYA BANDHAN - PATAN: 12th August 2003
Janai Purnima, also called Rakshya Bandhan, is the festival of
Sacred Thread. On this day every Hindu ties a sacred thread on
the wrist. On this full moon day, Khumbeshwor, Lalitpur
witnesses a big Mela (fair).
10: TANSEN JATRA - PALPA:
12th August 2003
The hilltop town of Tansen in the central Nepal exults in a
weeklong festive spree beginning with Janai Purnima, when
Hindus change their sacred threads. The next day, Gai Jatra is
marked by parading figures of cows made of bamboo and cloth.
Ropai Jatra is the rice planting ceremony and participants put
up ploughing and planting acts on the streets. During Bagh
Jatra, actors dressed up like tigers and hunters march through
town. Besides images of Ganesh, Bhimsen and Narayan are placed
on palanquins and paraded around Tansen. The celebrations
climax on August 12 with Bhagawati Jatra, the procession of
the town's protective goddess.
11: GAI JATRA: 13th August, 2003
Gai means cow, and the Gai Jatra or cow festival lasts for
eight days. Dancing, singing, pantomime, anything that causes
mirth and laughter is part of the festival's highlights.
People whose family members died during the year, parade a
decorated cow and young family members, dressed as cows or
hermits. The streets are filled with musical bands, children
in costumes made to resemble cows. Amongst the three towns in
the Kathmandu Valley, the celebration in Bhaktapur is the most
interesting. Tall bamboo contraptions, wrapped in cloth and
topped with horns fashioned of straw, and palanquins bearing
clay figures of cows, are carried around the town in memory of
the dead. The weirdly made up
Ghintang-gishi dancers, gyrating to the rhythm of boisterous
music, are the prime attraction in this festival processions.
12: SHREE KRISHNA JATRA - PATAN: 19th August 2003
The birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation
of Lord Vishnu, is one of the greatest Hindu festivals for the
Hindus of Nepal. In Kathmandu Valley, the focal point of the
festival is the Krishna Mandir in Patan Durbar Square.
Devotees gather around the 17th century temple to light small
oil lamps and chant as a mark of devotion. As midnight, the
hour of Lord Kirshna's birth approaches, chanting becomes more
frenzied, and people rush to worship the impressive image of
Lord Krishna inside the temple. Patan is covered under our
Best of Nepal Tour.
13: MATTYA: 21st August 2003
Mattya is celebrated all over Nepal, and is one of Patan's
most popular festivals. Devotees go around Buddhist courtyards
scattered around town offering prayers during the daylong
procession, participated by traditional musical bands.
Carrying lighted tapers and joss sticks in their hands, the
devotees toss rice grains, flowers and coins at the shrines.
Some devotees wear elaborate and amusing costumes. Since
helping the participants is said to earn religious merit,
people gather at various intersections and assist them by
providing refreshments as well as replenishments of tapers and
joss ticks.
14: FATHER'S DAY - GOKARNA AUNSI: 27th August 2003
The most auspicious day to honour one's father is Gokarna
Aunsi. Also known as Kuse Aunsi, it falls on the dark
fortnight of Bhadra or in August or in early September.
15: TEEJ: 30th August 2003
Teej is the fasting festival for women. Dressed in red
apparels Hindu women dance in temples and the streets as they
pray for marital bliss, well being of their spouse and
purification of their own body and soul. It takes place on
Tritiya of Bhadra (August/September).
16: NEEL BARAHI DANCE:
Neel Barahi Pyakhan is a sacred masked dance, observed over
four days (August/September) in different parts of Bode, 8 km
east of Kathmandu adjoining Thimi. Nineteen persons
representing the town's guardian pantheon take part in dance
performance, as 27-piece traditional orchestra provide the
music. The ceremony invokes peace and harmony, and is
dedicated to the deity Neel Barahi whose temple is located in
a jungle outside Bode.
17: INDRA JATRA: 09th Sept. 2003
 Indra Jatra is the festival dedicated to Indra, the god of
rain. Observed in the Kathmandu city, it is celebrated for
eight days. This is the only occasion when the living goddess
Kumari seated in a decorated chariot is paraded through the
streets, as from the king to commoner offer respect. The
celebration is confined to the traditional market and
residential areas of the old Kathmandu lying within the
periphery of Hanuman Dhoka. During the celebrations, the
streets and alleys come alive to the beat of drums and the
jingle of bells as Lakhe dancers leap about. It is an
impressive festival worth including in your itinerary.
18: DASHAIN: 27th Sept. - 07th Oct. 2003
During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar (late
September and early October), the Nepalese people indulge in
the biggest festival of the year, Dashain. It is the longest
and the most auspicious Hindu festival. The fifteen days of
celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on
the day of the full moon.
19: TIHAR - FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS: 23rd - 27th Oct. 2003
 Tihar, the festival of lights, is one of the most dazzling of
all Nepalese festivals. It is celebrated at a five days
stretch. The first day: crow's day, second day: dog's day,
third day: cow's day, which is also known Laxmi Puja where the
people worship Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Fourth day: 'self
day' as the name implies is the day for worship of the self.
Whereas on the final day or Bhai Tika, sisters worship their
brothers, place multicoloured tika and offer blessings for
long life. Brothers in turn offer gifts. Also known as
festival of lights, people lighten up their homes by burning
candles or wick lamps outside the main entrance and along the
windowsills.
20: MANI RIMDU: SOLUKHUMBU: 09-11 November 2003
To the Sherpas of the Khumbu region, Mani Rimdu is the biggest
annual event. It takes place during the full moon of the ninth
Tibetan month. The festival congregate at Thyangboche
Monastery (also known as Tengpoche), situated on a spur at
3,870 meters, offers one of the finest mountain viewpoints in
the world — panorama of Himalayan giants that includes
Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam. The three-day Mani
Rimdu celebrations, follows the ten days of non-stop prayers
addressed to the patron deities seeking blessing from the god
of all mankind. The deity propitiated is Guru Rinpoche, the
founder of Mahayana Buddhism in Tibet. This festival is so
impressive that we have a Mani Rimdu trek just to cover this
festival.
21: VIVAHA PANCHAMI: 28th Nov. 2003
This Hindu festival, commemorating the marriage of Sita to
Ram, is particularly celebrated in Janakpur. Each year in
Janakpur, idols of Ram and Sita are brought out in bright
processions where their wedding ceremony is enacted.
22: YOMARI PUNHI: 08th Dec. 2003
Yomari Punhi is one of the popular Newar annual festivals
observed during the full moon of December. A yomari is a
confection of rice-flour (from the new harvest) dough shaped
like fig and filled with brown cane sugar and sesame seeds,
which is then steamed.
23: MAGHE SANKRANTI: 15th Jan. 2004
Maghe Sankranti is the beginning of the holy month of Magh,
usually the mid of January. It brings an end to the ill-omened
month of Poush (mid-December) when all religious ceremonies
are forbidden. Even if it is considered the coldest day of the
year, it marks the coming of warmer weather and better days of
health and fortune.
24: CHAITE DASHAIN: 29th March 2004
Chaite Dashain used to be the original day for celebrations of
Dashain festival (which takes place exactly six months later
now). The festival was shifted to a more favourable season as
feasting on spicy food during the warm month of Chaitra,
resulted in many health problems including stomach disorders.
25: LHOSAR: 22nd Jan. 2004
Lhosar is the Tibetan New Year, which falls on February/March,
and is most impressively observed by all the Tibetan-speaking
population. Folk songs and dances are the attractions of this
festivity, which can be witnessed in Khumbu, Helambu and other
northern regions of Nepal, including at Boudhanath in
Kathmandu.
26: SHREE PANCHAMI: 26th Jan. 2004
The festival, celebrated as the birthday of Saraswati, the
Goddess of Learning, falls in mid Magh (January/February).
Seated in a full-blown lotus in spotless white robe, the
goddess is the lily-white daughter of Shiva and Durga. This
day is also dedicated to the martyrs of Nepal and hence
celebrated as Martyr's Day.
27: MAHA SHIVA RATRI: 18th Feb. 2004
On the Trayodashi of the month Fagun (February/March),
celebrations are dedicated to the Lord Shiva.
28: HOLI - FAGU PURNIMA: 06th March 2004
Fagu also known as Holi, supposedly named after the mythical
demon Holika, is a weeklong festival celebrated in Nepal.
However, it's only on the last day that colours become the
part of the celebration. In Kathmandu, the festivals kicks off
at Hanuman Dhoka with the setting up of a Chir - a long pole
whose upper portion consists of wooden frames decorated with
strips of colourful clothes, which is believed to embody
special powers to ward off the evil. Unlike the following six
days, on the last day, people throw coloured powder and water
at each other, brining jubilations in the streets. The Chir is
brought down and burnt at the end of the festival.
29: GHODEJATRA: 20th March 2004
 This festival of horses is celebrated in Kathmandu alone.
Horse races and other sports take place at Tundikhel, at the
centre of the city, reputed to have been the largest parade
ground in Asia in the bygone era. Tundi is the resident demon
of Tundikhel, and only the pounding of hooves once every year
is said to prevent him from escaping and causing destruction.
Various deities are carried shoulder high on palanquins to the
accompaniment of traditional music in other parts of the city.
30: SHREE RAM NAWAMI: 30th March 2004
Ram Nawami is celebrated in the mid of Chaitra (March/April)
as Lord Ram's birthday. It is celebrated with much pomp at
Janaki Temple in Janakpur city, which lies in southern Nepal.
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