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Festivals of Nepal |
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Festival is not just a tradition, it is a way of life in
Nepal... |
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Nepal has
more festivals than the number of days in a year. A
festival is always a meaningful and memorable event in
the life of Nepalese people. Every festival has some
purpose to serve. From bringing in the rain to honoring
the dead or averting calamities, every festival has
something spiritual about it. Festival is a way of life
in Nepal. |
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With the number
of festivals that Nepal has, it is one of the best ways to
understand and appreciate the Nepalese ways of life. For the
Nepalese the festival cycle is not a tradition but a guide
to what to do and when. The festival marks the appropriate
seasonal activity, the annual chores, the weather patterns.
Nepal is known as a garden of 4 castes and 36 ethnic groups.
Each of them living in harmony with each other. All of them
are rich in their own cultures and traditions. They all have
their own gods, their own religious ways of calling their
gods. They have colourful festivals all year round. In fact,
each day there is a festival of one or the other caste.
Nepal follows it's own calendar which is known as B.S. (Bikram
Sambadh). Just as any other calendar has, Nepali calendar
have 12 months starting from Baisakh, Jestha, Ashad, Srawan,
Bhadra, Ashwin, Kartik, Mangsir, Poush, Margh, Falghun and
Chaitra. Below is a table that show when these months falls
according to English calendar followed by a festival
calendar. To visit Nepal, one should always coincide with
one of these festivals to witness not just the natural
beauty but culturally too.
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NEPALI BS 2059 |
ENGLISH
CALENDAR |
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BAISAKH 31 days |
April
— May |
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JESTHA 31 days |
May
— June |
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ASHAD 32 days |
June
— July |
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SRAWAN 31 days |
July
— Aug. |
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BHADRA 31 days |
August
— Sept. |
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ASHWIN 31 days |
September
— Oct. |
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KARTIK 30 days |
October
— November |
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MANGSIR 29 days |
November
— December |
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POUSH 29 days |
December
— January |
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MARGH 30 days |
January
— February |
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FALGHUN 29 days |
February
— March |
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CHAITRA 31days |
March
— April |
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FESTIVALS OF NEPAL
 It is said about Nepal that every other day structure is
a holy shrine and every other day a festival. Festivals
are an essential part of Nepalese life that garner
tremendous local participation. Festivals also offer
visitors a valuable opportunity not only for having fun
but gaining insight into various aspects of Nepalese
culture. We have arranged the festivals in order of
English calendar. The religious festivals follow the
lunar calendar, while national festivals have fixed
dates. Whenever you arrive in Nepal, you can be pretty
sure of being at the right time for one or more special
events.
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FESTIVAL NAMES |
DATES Approx. |
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Seto
Machhendranath washing festival |
Jan
I - II week |
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Tibetan
New Year (LHOSAR) |
Jan
last week |
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Basanta
Panchami |
Feb.
2nd week. |
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1001
Lights in Boudhanath |
Feb
3rd week. |
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Mahashivaratri, Shiva's night at Pashupati |
March
2nd week |
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Holi,
festival of colour and water balloon |
March
2nd week |
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Bhimsen's Penis puja, |
March
3rd week |
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Ghode
Jatra, horse festival in Kathmandu's Tundikhel |
April
1st week |
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Sankhu
Jatra, festival fare at Sankhu, old trading town |
April
3rd week |
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Seto
Machhendranath chariot festival |
April
2nd week |
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Bisket
Jatra, Bhaktapur, Nepali New Year |
April
2nd week |
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Rato
Machhendranath washing festival, Patan |
May
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Buddha
Jayanti, Lord Buddha's birthday |
May
last week |
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Dumji (Sherpa
festival) |
July
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Krishnaaastami (Lord Krishna's Birthday) |
July-August
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Gai
Jatra, Cow festival, whole Kathmandu |
Aug
3rd week |
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Teej
Brata, fasting by women, festival in Pashupati |
September
2nd week. |
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Indra
Jatra, Lord Indra's chariot festival |
Sept.
3rd week |
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Dashain,
Nepal's biggest and colourful festival |
Oct.
2nd week |
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Tihar or
Diwali, festival of colourful lights |
Nov.
1st week |
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Bala
Chaturdasi (Pashupatinath Temple) |
Nov.
2nd week |
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Mani
Rimbdu (Everest Region) |
Nov.
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