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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, 2007
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
2007
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 2007
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 2007
(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 2007
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 2007
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 2007
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 2007
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 2007
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, 2007
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
2007
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 2007
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
2007
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 2007
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. 2007
 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. 2007
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. 2007
 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
2007
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. 2007
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. 2007
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. 2007
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 2007
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. 2007
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. 2007
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. 2007
On the Trayodashi of the month Fagun (February/March),
celebrations are dedicated to the Lord Shiva.
28: HOLI - FAGU PURNIMA: 06th March 2007
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 2007
 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 2007
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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