
Navavarsha (New Year's Day)
Baisakh-(April-May)
The Nepalese follow their own calendar
system known as the Bikram Era or Bikram
Sambat. This festival celebrates the first day of
the first month of the New Year and is observed as an
official holiday. In Bhaktapur, fifteen kilometers from
Katmandu, the new year celebrations take on added
importance as the "Festival of Bisket" during a
tall wooden post is erected in one of the main squares.
This festival commemorates the great battle of
Mahabharata, with the wooden post symbolizing
victory.
After two days, images of god Bhairab
and his female counterpart Bhadra are enshrined
in two large chariots and pulled through crowds of
cheering onlookers. When the chariot reaches a sloping
open square, there is a tug-of-war between the
inhabitants of the upper and lower parts of the town.
Winners are considered to be blessed with good fortune
for the coming year. The festival concludes with several
days of dancing and worship. Thimi, another ancient town
of the Valley, also celebrates the New Year with special
festivities.
Lhosar
(Tibetan New Year):
This is the New Year of the Tibetans and
Sherpas of Nepal which falls in February. The Buddhist
monasteries in Kathmandu like Boudhanath and
Swayambhunath are decorated with eye catching colorful
prayer flags pulling the crowd. The people perform their
traditional dances and welcome their New Year with
feasts and family gatherings wearing all the new clothes
and finest jewelries and exchanging gifts.
Red
Machchhendranath Festival
This festival takes place in Patan.
During the celebrations the towering chariot of Lord
Machchhendranath is pulled by ropes through the
narrow streets of the city followed by a large crowd of
worshippers. In front of the chariot, a small crowd of
musicians and soldiers add even more excitement to the
occasion. Over a period of several weeks, the chariot is
slowly hauled to Jawalakhel where tens of thousands of
devotees burn oil lamps and keep an all-night-vigil.
During this chariot festival the "Bhoto" or
sacred waistcoat, itself the subject of many legends is
displayed from the chariot as all the onlookers strain
to catch a glimpse of the lucky sight. A final ritual is
then conducted to mark Lord Machchhendranath's
departure for one year.
Buddha Jayanti
(The Birthday of Lord Buddha)
Buddha Jayanti is a great day for the
Nepalese. This day which falls on the full moon of the
month of Baisakh is celebrated to commemorate the birth,
attainment of knowledge, and the death of Lord Buddha
the founder preacher of Buddhism, more than 2500 years
ago. It is a thrice-blessed day. It is the day when he
attained Nirvana (salvation). Prayers are sung and
worship is offered by the Buddhist in leading Buddhist
shrines throughout the country. At Swayambhunath temple
for example, devout Buddhists gather to chant prayers
and burn butter lamps. The next morning, a small shrines
are visited and worshipped. Parading groups walk through
the streets of Katmandu and Patan while special flags
fly from all Buddhist households.
Mani Rimdu
This typical Sherpa festival is celebrated exclusively in
the Lamaist monasteries of the Mt. Everest region. It is held in
the month of May, mostly on full moon day at the Thame monastery
in he Khumbu region, near Namche Bazaar at an altitude of
13,123feet (4000m). A very spectacular masked dance drama played
for three full days is the main outdoor highlight of the
festival.
Ghantakarna
Sravan-(July-August)
Taking place towards the end of the Nepalese month of
Sravan, this festivals celebrates the exorcism of a mythical
demon, Ghantakarna, who, according to legend, was greatly
feared throughout the Katmandu Valley. The festival is
celebrated by acting out the legendary drama in the streets. To
begin with, children of each Katmandu Neighborhood collect money
from passersby which is then used to make an effigy of the demon
god. While this effigy remains in the center of a rough
tent-like structure erected from bamboo poles, one man
impersonates Ghantakarna by smearing himself with white
paint and roaming the local area collecting donations in a
begging bowl. Surrounded by the crowds of small children, the
group then returns to the effigy and proceeds to take it to the
river for burning, thus marking the victory of the local
inhabitants over the demon god.
Gai Jatra
Bhadra-(August-September)
According to tradition dating back since time immemorial,
every family who has lost one relative during the past year must
participate in a procession through, the streets of Katmandu
leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed
up as a cow is considered to be a fair substitute. It is
believed that the symbol of a cow, revered as a holy animal by
all devout Hindus, will assist the deceased relative's
heavenward journey. Later in the Afternoon, nearly everyone
takes part in another age-old tradition in which all
participants dress up and wear masks; jokes, mockery and humor
of every kind become the order of the day until the late
evening.
Krishnaashtami
Krishnashtami
or the birthday of Lord Krishna, is
celebrated in commemoration of the hero of the Hindu epic,
Mahabharata. On this day, worshippers carry ornate and
decorated idols and pictures of Lord Krishna through the
streets, often with bands of musicians following or preceding
the procession. In Patan, thousands of devout flock to Krishna
temple to worship and receive blessings.
Indrajatra
The festival is celebrated by both the Hindus and
Buddhists with great enthusiasm. The festival continues for
eight days during which time there is much rejoicing, dancing
and feasting. On the first day, along wooden pole is erected in
front of the ancient Royal Palace at Hunuman Dhoka, in order to
propitiate Indra, the god of rain. Classical dancers also
assemble at the spot wearing different kinds of masks and
dancing around the courtyard of Hanuman Dhoka to celebrate
Indra's visit. On the third day of the festival, the Living
Goddess or "Kumari" is taken out in a procession in a
chariot. Three chariots of Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav are taken
round the city for three days. The King also pays homage to the
Kumari during this time. The festival's many other interesting
dances including the Mahakali, Mahalaxmi, and Dasha
Avatara masked dances, are staged on the plinth of Narayan
temple, just opposite the Kumari temple. On the last evening of
the festival, the long wooden pole erected on the first day is
lowered amid religious ceremonies and animal sacrifices.
Teej
This is a Hindu married woman’s day for
her man. This festival is celebrated in August/September. Women
clad in beautiful red saris with shining potes (glass beads),
singing and dancing is the sight almost everywhere in Nepal
during the festival of Teej. On this day women observe a fast
and pray Lord Shiva for the long, healthy and prosperous life of
their husbands and their families. The unmarried women also
observe this festival with unabated zeal with the hope that they
will get to marry good husbands. From early dawn, women queue up
in the multiple lines in Pashupatinath to offer their prayers to
Lord Shiva. |