Nepal is a country of festivals. In fact, the Nepalese are said to observe more festivals than there are days in the year. Hardly a day passes without some festivals, ceremonial observances or pilgrimages occurring in some part of the country or the other. The following festivals are brief description of the major festivals observed in the country.

NAVABARSHA: Navabarsha is the Nepalese New Year’s Day, which is a national holidays celebrated with great pomp and pageantry. Bhaktapur marks this occasion with the weeklong.

BISKET JATRA: On the first day, ceremonies begin around dusk outside the Bhairab Temple in Tarumadhi Tole where a huge 4-wheeled wooden chariot has been readied. The chariot, carrying the shrine of Bhairab and Bhadrakali, is paraded through the town. During a break, residents from the eastern and western halves of the town rally for possession of the chariot in a mammoth tug-of –war. The winning side gets the privilege of taking care of the deities for the next seven days. At the end of the seventh day, the chariot is then taken down a steep alleyway to the banks of the Hanumante River where an enormous 25-meter pole is raised. The next day again there is a tug-of-war in the feeling of the pole to signify the beginning of the New Year. In the nearby town of Thimi, the Balkumari Jatra takes place, during which the people of Thimi honor the goddess Balkumari, one of Bhairab’s consorts. All through the day devotees gather outside the Balkumari temple and in the evening hundreds of oil lamps are lit. The following day the townsmen parade 32 different dieted in palanquins around the temple where saffron and vermilion powders are tossed towards them. It is a colorful scene, a sea of humanity bathed in sacred colors. The festival reaches its climax when the palanquin bearing Ganesh, brought from the village of Nade, makes a dash to return home and gets chased by all the other palanquins. Should they manage to catch Ganesh, the festival gets prolonged a little longer but eventually Ganesh does return to Nade after which the procession moves on to the Taleju Temple.

Following this event, sacrifices are made to the Bal-kumari in the neighboring village of Bode where there are only seven deities borne on palanquins. In Bode takes place an event, which might seem bizarre to outsiders. A volunteer in a spiritual trance gets his tongue pierced with a thin metal spike is pierced through the tongue of volunteer devotees. Belief is that if the tongue does not bleed, the devotee will be ensured a place in heaven. Good fortune to the village and to the volunteer will follow should he succeed in spending the whole day thus spiked.

RATO MACCHENDRANATH: The god of rain, Rato Machendranath signifies prosperity and fertility. it is believed to have originated in the Himalayas and brought to live in Bungmati village at a time of great draught in the country. This is the longest as well as the most important festival of Patan. It begins with several days of ceremonies and the fabrication of a wooden-wheeled chariot at Pulchowk, near the Ashoka Stupa. The chariot bears the shrine of the Rato (Red) Macchendranath (the Mantic expression of Lokeshwar) and carries a very tall spire fabricated from bamboo poles tied together from four ends of the chariot. This unwieldy spire is around 10 meters tall and on account of which, the chariot balances precariously. It is said that calamity is certain to strike the land in the event of the chariot overturning or breaking down during the course of this festival (Quite often, the chariot does collapse and break down.) Astrologers determine the actual date of the festival, which usually falls in April only shortly before the event. Following the construction, the chariot is towed through the streets of Patan by throngs of devotees every day. Each day, it is put to rest in one of the many venerated spots in the city. This goes on for a month until it comes to rest on the big field outside zoo and end with the Bhoto Jatra, another major festival, during which the jewel-studded Bhoto (vest) of Machhendranath is displayed to the public.

BUDDHA JAYANTI: On this day that represents the birth of Gautam Buddha in the gardens of Lumbini, the full moon that lights the sky signifies his birth, enlightenment, and death. In Katmandu the Stupas at Boudha and Swoyambhu are the focal points of worship and celebrations. At Swoyambhu, musicians play age-gold religious music while images of the Buddha are brought out, butter lamps lit, and prayer flags hung. Ancient prayer chants hang in the air amidst incense and the continuous whirring of the prayer wheels, while the Buddha‘s image of paraded on elephant back circling the Boudhanath Stupa. At dusk, numerous butter lamps are lit, while the full moon casts a glow of compassion and hope over the valley.

The spring full moon day when the Buddha Shakyamuni was born is celebrated as Buddha Jayanti or Swanya Punhi. The day is thrice blessed since it commemorates the three important events in the Buddha's life: his birth, the day he attained enlightenments, and the day he passed into Nirvana. In Katmandu, celebrations marking Buddha Jayanti are concentrated around the stupa of Swayambhunath, the most sacred among all Buddhist monuments in Nepal. Devotees gather from early morning to worship and walk around the shrine in ritual circumambulation. Offerings of butter lamps, rice, coins and flower, and prayer ceremonies go on throughout the day. Religious scroll paintings (Paubha) and images of the Buddha are put on display. The Buddha Jayanti celebrations are equally fascinating at Boudhanath. An image of the Buddha is mounted on an elephant at the head of a procession that circles the stupa and then proceeds to another Stupa and then proceeds to another Stupa at Chabahil. Large symbolic lotus petals are painted on the stupa with yellow dye of saffron. Prayer flags flutter in the air, and as nightfalls, the stupa and the monasteries are illuminated with the light thousands of butter lamps.

CHHATH (Lighting up their lives): The worship of the sun is one of the biggest events in the Terai town of Janakpur in southern Nepal. Known as Chhath parva, the annual celebration attracts thousands of devotees of the Hindu faith who converge on the scared pounds and rivers of the town the night before the actual date of the festival to await the coming of sera, the sun God. For the inhabitants of Janakpur these water reservoirs form the nuclei around which all their activities from work to relaxation to prayer center. This becomes even more evident during the sun worshipping celebration as the surroundings explode in co lour and sound. Preparations begin the Chhath and scenes on the banks of the rivers and pounds are that of excited activity. Devotees come laden with baskets of fruits, nuts, flowers, honey, sacred threads and holy water as thanksgiving offerings to the sun for this life giving power. They light lamps and while away the hours of darkness in prayer and song.

MATA TIRTHA (Mother’s day): The Mata Tirtha festival seeks to highlight two unique aspects of Nepalese culture. One that of the worship of the mother as representing the Divine female energy, a culture in itself, and the other of holding one’s parents, elders and ancestors in high esteem. On this day, men and women offer ritual food, sweetmeats and other gifts to their mothers. It is common to see men, women and children dressed in their finery carrying gifts of food and going to meet their mother to bow and touch her feet as a mark of veneration. The mother in return, touches the forehead of her offspring as a gesture of blessing. For those mothers have passed away, it is their sacred duty to visit the Mata Tirtha Ponds, a sacred pilgrimage spot about 8 km southwest of Kathmandu, just off the Thankot road. The rituals there are usually associated with a holy bath of one of the two adjacent ponds, followed by a Shraddha (annual rites performed in honor of the dead.)

NAAG PANCHAMI: In Hinduism, Naag (the divine serpent) is glorified as the provider of rain. Naag is worshipped to provide a good harvest during the monsoon season, and Naag Panchami, the fifth day of the bright lunar fortnight, is set aside for worshipping serpents. Devotees on this day paste pictures of Naag over their doorways with cow-dung. As part of the rituals to propitiate the divine serpents, milk, their favorite drink is offered to the pictures. Failure to appease them may invite droughts and disaster in the days ahead. Devotees also throng Taudaha, a pond six kilometers to the south of Kathmandu. There they worship Karkotak Naag, the serpent-king. Karkotak moved to this dwelling when Manjushree drained the lake that used to cover the Valley. Pilgrims also visit the rural Newar Township of Dhapakhel in Lalitpur, where at Nagdha, they pay homage to the serpent-gods.

JANAI PURNIMA: On this day, Brahmins and Chettris have their annual ritual of changing their annual ritual of changing their sacred thread called the Janai. Rishi Tarpani is the day to pay ablution to Rachis, as the hermits practicing self-denial are known. The full moon day thus sees hordes of Hindu priests with their clean-shaven heads taking dips in the holy water to purify their bodies before they get on with their business of offering sacred yellow threads to their clients. The native Newars of the Kathmandu Valley call this festival Gunhi Punhi, Kwati, soup of nine different sprouted beans, is prepared in Newar households as the specials dish on the day’s menu. In the Kathmandu Valley, the biggest celebration takes place at the Kumbeswor Temple in Patan. A richly decorated lingam, the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva, is placed on a raised platform in the middle of the historic Kumbheswar Pond for devotees to worship. Another ceremony that takes place here is called Byanja Nakegu in which rice is offered to frogs. Since the water in the pond is believed to come from Gosainkunda, via an underground channel, a bath in Kumbheswor is considered as meritorious as one in Gosainkunda. However, the more devout Hindus trek to the sacred lake at an altitude of 4,298 meters and take a dip in the freezing of coins and coconuts too Shiva and Parvati.

GAI JATRA: Literally meaning Cow Festival, this is a jovial festival that lasts for eight days. Dancing, singing, pantomime anything that causes mirth and laughter is part of the festival’s highlights. On the first day of the festival, people whose family members have died during the year parade a decorated cow around the city together their young ones dressed as cows or hermits. The sacred animal helps departed souls cross the cosmic ocean in their journey into the after-world. Family members join the cow procession to ensure smooth passage for their loved ones because the gates of the after-world are open only on this day. Gai Jatra sees the streets of three cities of the Valley filled with musical bands, children in costumes made to resemble cows, and cows gaily ornamented with colorful paper fans tied to their horns and garlands of flowers around their necks. People stand at the crossroads to offer sweets and drinks to the participants. In Kathmandu, the festival route passes by the Durbar Squares, so this is a good place to observe this festival.

Humorous and satirical affairs are held to cheer the bereaved families. There are street events and stage shows making fun of government officials and some people come dressed out like lunatics roaming around the city to make people laugh. In Nepal’s pre-democracy days, only on this particular day were newspapers permitted to criticize the functioning of the government. In the Kathmandu, the bereaved families proceed along the festival route individually. In Patan, all the participants first gather at the Durbar Square and then move out together. However, it is the celebration in Bhaktapur that is the most interesting. Tall bamboo contraptions, wrapped in cloth and topped with horns fashioned of straw, are carried around the city in memory of the dead. Palanquins bearing clay figures of cows are also paraded around. One prime attraction during this festival is processions of weirdly made up Ghintang-gishi dancers gyrating to the rhythm of boisterous music. Gai Jatra is also celebrated in all other hill towns of Nepal where there are large Newar communities.

KRISHNA ASHTHAMI: The birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is one of the greatest Hindu festivals for the Hindus of Nepal. Krishna’s exploits as a child when he subdued fierce demons and performed miraculous feats specially endear him to his devotees. In his boyhood, Krishna exploits as a child when he subdued fierce demons and performed miraculous feats specially endear him to his devotees. In his boyhood, Krishna killed the evil king Kansa, his maternal uncle, to liberate the people from his atrocities. During the 18-day war depicted in the great Hindu epic Mahabharat, Krishna served as the de facto commander and strategist for the righteous Pandavas. In Kathmandu Valley, the focal point of this festival is the Krishna Mandir in Patan Durbar Square. Men and women from a far gather around the 17th-century temple and sit in a vigil waiting for the midnight hour – the hour of Krishna’s birth. Euphoric prayers and incantations fill the air, and small oil lamps are lit as a mark of devotion. At midnight, the chanting becomes more frenzied, and people rush to worship the impressive image of Krishna inside the temple.

TEEJ: A blissful conjugal life, progress and prosperity for her husband, good fortune for herself, and purification of her own body and soul: these are what an ideal Hindu woman is supposed to aspire for. Teej, the lively festival exclusively for womenfolk, is a spiritual endeavor towards the realization of their aspirations. For an unmarried woman, compliance with the age-old tradition ensures a good, loving and caring husband. The festival combines both sumptuous feasts and tormenting fasts. On the first day of the three-day celebration, groups of women, both married and unmarried, congregate at one place in their finest attires. Amidst laughter, songs and music, the grand feasts begin. The merry making goes on till midnight, from which time onwards the women undergo a 24-hour fast.

The next day sees these women, in their crimson saris, singing and dancing on the streets leading to Shiva shrines. The main activities revolve around the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. On this special day, the temple remains closed for all males, except the Brahmin priests. Female devotees, as a mark of total devotion to Shiva the Destroyer, circumambulate the lingam, the phallic symbol of the Almighty, making offerings of flowers, sweets and coins, and praying for their husband's longevity, progress and prosperity. The third and last day of the festival is called Rishi Panchami, which is the fifth day of the waxing moon. On this day, women who have undergone the agonizing fast pay homage to various deities situated on the banks of sacred rivers. After a holy bath in the rivers, they use a piece of Datiwan (a sacred plant with religious and medicinal significance), to sprinkle holy water all over their body 360 times. The ritual helps then secure exoneration for all sins they might have committed in the past year.

INDRA JATRA: Indra Jatra is the festival dedicated to Indra, the god of rain. Only observed in the city Kathmandu, it is celebrated for eight days. This is the only time when the Royal Kumari (The living Goddess) is paraded through the city of Kathmandu. Installed upon a decorated chariot, the Kumari is pulled through the street by devotees. The celebration is confined to the traditional market and residential areas of the old Kathmandu lying within the periphery of Hanuman Dhoka. Throughout the festival period, the streets and alleys come alive to the beat of drums and the jingle of bells on the Lakhe dancers’ legs as they leap about their dance steps in the darkness.

DASAIN: Dashain glorifies the triumph of Good over Evil, of Goddess Durga’s slaying of the terrible demon Mahisasura, who roamed the guise of a ferocious water buffalo. Ten days of intense sacrificial and joyous worship celebrate fertility and the victory of good over evil, as represented by the goddess Durga Bhawani and the various gods who fights the demons. The first day of Dasain is called Ghatasthapana, which means establishing of the holy water vessel, which represents the Goddess Durga. Barley seeds are planted in it.

The seventh day or Phulpati is the offering of flowers and leaves, carried by runners from Gorkha, the ancestral home of the Shah Kings of Nepal, and received by the King in Kathmandu. On Maha Ashthami, the eighth day, the fervor of worship and sacrifice to Kali and Durga increases. Animal sacrifices highlight events of the ninth night to appease Durga, the Goddess of Victory and Might. Dasain takes its name from Vijay Dashami, the Great Tenth Day of Victory. This is the day when Lord Rama slew the demon Ravana and when Durga vanquished the demon Mahisasura. On this day tika is received from elders. The tika symbolizing victory is a blessing of good fortune.

TIHAR (Deepawali): The five day festival is a time of lights and tinsel decorations fancy sweets and juicy fruits the first day is the day is the day of crows leaf dishes of rice, incense and light are set out for the dark messenger .On the second day dogs are worshipped and offered foods. The third day is the day of cow’s representatives of Laxmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Rows of lamps are placed on windows and doors, with a strong hope that Laxmi please to reside in light. The fourth day is New Year’s Day according to the Nepal era, and Newars perform Mahapuja the worship of one’s own divine self for good for tune throughout the coming year (1119NE) cultural processions and other celebrations are also organized to mark the occasion. The fifth and final day is the day of brothers; sisters on this day worship their brothers and pray to Yama, the god of Death, for their progress, prosperity and longevity.

SITA BIBAH PANCHAMI: In the Hindu tradition there is no love story greater than that of lord ram, the epic hero of the Ramayan, and Sita model of ideal Hindu womanhood. The greatest kings of the time, and the procession that they made attractive beyond description attended their marriage in Janakpur. During this occasion, thousand s of pilgrims throng the historic city to observe and take part in the re-enactment of the marriage procession. The celebrations are focused around the magnificent Janaki temple and the ram Sita Vibaha Mandap. Children dressed up as Ram and Sita are put on chariots and taken through the streets, which seethe with bright colors and a festive mood.

MANI RIMDU: To the Sherpas of the Khumbu region, Mani Rimbu is the biggest event of the year. It takes place during the full moon of the ninth month the festival, Sherpas from the Khumbu region congregate at Thyangboche Gompa, the picturesque monastery situated on a spur are 3,870 meters from where both Mt. Everest and Ama Dablam can be seen. The three-day celebration of Mani Rimbu follows the ten days of non-stop prayer session 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.

The ceremony begins with the blowing of horns in the afternoon of the first day. Then the abbot of the monastery accompanied by other monks in their maroon robes arrives on the stage. Prayers are chanted, and gratitude is extended to all those who have contributed to the event. The people then rise to their feet to receive blessings, holy water, and auspicious pellets from the Abbot for good luck and longevity. An orchestra of cymbals, horns, flutes, and conch shells announces the start of the second day’s celebrations. This is followed by the masked dances in which monks in colorful robes and huge glowering masks perform ritual dances symbolizing the destruction of evil forces. In one of the dances, a group of monks clad in bright silk attire and black headgear perform ablution to the gods and pray for divine protection from the forces of evil. The performances, enlivened by humorous interludes, continue until dark. Tormas (figures made of dough) are consigned to a sacred fire on the last day. This implies the end of negative forces and the advent of a blessed new year.

MAGHE SANKRANTI: Mage Sankranti is the first day of the month magh (January). Magh is a sacred month so the first day is celebrated with a feast at home that particularly constitutes of yam, butter and brown sugar. Lord Vishnu the Preserver is worshipped and thanked for the return of the warm season once more. Through the month of Magh, people busy themselves with religious activities such as taking an early morning bath in holy rivers, visiting the shrines of Vishnu and offering flowers, incense and food, and reading the Bhagavad-Gita.

BASANTA PANCHAMI & SARASWATI PUJA: Both festivals occur on the same day. This is the day that ushers in the spring season. A huge crowd gathers at the Hanuman Dhoka and the King and other dignitaries attend the occasion. Brass bands of the army and the police play the traditional Spring Song. Saraswoti is the goddess of education, in this day there is rush in Swarasowati temple .In this day mother and father took their children in the temple and they write some thing in the stone believe that if they write there ma Saraswoti bless them all the life. In Nepal all school are closed and mostly student celebrate this day.

LOSAR: Losar is the Tibetan New Year. All the Tibetan- speaking populations most impressively observe this festival in the month of February. They organize folk songs and dances on this occasion. These dances can be seen in Khumbu, Helembu and other northern regions of Nepal and also at Boudhanath in Kathmandu.

MAHA SHIVARATRI: Maha Shivaratri, or the Great Night of Lord Shiva, is observed in honor of Lord Shiva’s day of birth. A great fair takes place at the Pashupatinath Temple as thousands of pilgrims from all parts of Nepal and India congregate in celebration.

FAGU PURNIMA (Holi Festival): This is a colorful occasion when people smear each other with colored powder and splash water balloons onto one another. The Chirr-pole is erected at the Kathmandu Durbar Square gaily decorated with colorful flags. That is the formal announcement to everybody to hide all his or her good clothes and to join in the revelry.

GOHODE JATRA: This is the festival of horses celebrated in Kathmandu only. Horse races and other sports take place at Tundikhel on this day. Tundi is the resident demon of Tundikhel, and only the pounding of hooves once every year prevents him from escaping and causing destruction. In other parts of the city various deities are carried shoulder high on palanquins to the accompaniment of traditional music.