Dashain

Introduction:-
Nepal is a Hindu kingdom. Hindus observe many festivals. among them the greatest festival is Dashain. It is usually observed on the month of September. It is observed for ten days. So this festival is known as Dashain. The educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental offices remain closed during this festival.
Why it is observed?:-
Dashain is observed as a victory good over evil. It reminds us that the good gets victory and bad is ultimately defeated. This festival encourages everybody to follow the path of good . According to our Hindu epic, goddess Bhagawati, the goddess of power was able to kill Mahishashur, the symbol of evil. This festival is celebrated every year in this memory.
How it is observed? :-
'Ghatasthapana' is the first day of Dashain. On this day people bring sand from the holy river ;and put in the corner of the room. The maize, barley and seedlings are sown. The young plant is known as 'Jamara'. People use this on the tenth day. Since that day goddess Bhagawati is worshipped for nine days. This is known as 'Navaratri'. The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth days are most important days. The seventh day is known as 'Fulpati'. On this day, flowers are taken from Gorkha Palace to Kathamandu Hanuman Dhoka is relays in one day. The eighth and ninth days are known as Maha Asthami and Maha Nawami respectively. On these day goats and buffaloed are sacrificed in every homes and temples . It is done to please goddess Bhagawati. It is said that goddess Bhagawati was able to kill 'Mahishashur' on the ninth day. The tenth day is the most important day of all. It is said that god Ram Chandra was able to kill the demon king Raven on the day. So this day is known as Vijaya Dashami (the day of victory). On this day, the juniors go to their superiors. The superiors give blessings of long life and properity to the juniors by marking Tika (rice mixed with red powder) on their forehead and Jamara on their heads. People forget all kinds of misunderstandings. So this festival is known as festival of unity. Those who are away,come to their home to celebrate this festival.
Conclusion:-
All the classes of people whether they are rich or poor celebrate this festival with a great joy. The houses are cleaned and decorated. People wear new clothes and eat delicious food. The children play swings and adults play cards. This festival can be misery (Dasa) to the poor people. They spend the money carelessly beyond their capacity. They have to lose their land to pay the debt. But this is bad. This should be discouraged. We should not spend more than we can afford. As a whole Dashain is a combination of fine things.

Tihar

Hindus are rich in rituals. One ends and another starts. Dashain starts in the mid of september and ends in the begining of October. Meanwhile, just after few days people start prepatation of another festival, which is also one of the great festival that the Hindu people celebrate every year.

It is celebrated in the month of October. The festival comes at the end of the autumn season. The autumn is a season of harvest. Thus, the Tihar is observed in a season, when people can spend.

The festival is celebrated for five days, hence it is also called 'Panchak'. It may be called the festival of light. Lights are a prominent feature of this festival. People keep lights burning in their houses at night. The houses are cleaned and washed. People decorate their houses with flowers, pictures and festoons. Cleanliness is another feature of the festival.

The first day of the festival is called the crow festival. The crow is worshipped on this day. People can not actually worship the crow, for it is a cunning bird. Nobody can catch it. People leave some food for the crow at a place. The crow comes and eats the food. We do not like it, but on this day we welcome the crow.

The second day of the festival is the dog festival. The dog is worshipped on this day. Some persons worship their own dogs. Some person have no dog of their own and worship a street dog. They put 'Tika' on the dog's forehead and garland round his neck.They give him food to eat. some persons hate dags and harass them, but on this day dogs are kindly treated by everybody.

The third day of the festival is called Laxmi Puja.Laxmi is the goddess of fortune . In the morning, people worship the cow. The cow is an incarnation of Laxmi. At night, they worship an image or a picture of Laxmi and invoke her blessing. They pray that Laxmi may bless them with wealth. They keep their houses and surroundings clean because they think that Laxmi does not enter an unclean house. At night, they keep lights burning. One can see more lights on this day than on any other day of the festival. A town like Kathmandu is brilliantly illuminated.

The fourth day of the festival is known as the Ox Festival. The ox is worshipped on this day. The ox is a useful animal. He ploughs our fields and draws carts. It is no wonder that we worship the ox. We value him for his services.

The fifth day of the festival is called the Brother's Festival (Bhai Tika). Sisters worship their brothers on this day and give them presents. Specially sweets and fruits. Sisters put Tika on their brother's foreheads and garland them with flower-wreaths. Brothers give them money in return for the respect bestowed upon them demand on this occasion.

The Tihar is a festival of great rejoicing. People keep their houses neat and clean. They eat sweets and fruits.They eat 'Sel Roti' in this festival. It is better than the Dashain. They do not kill birds and animals. The Tihar does not entail a huge expenditure.People do not have to buy new clothes and kill animals. The most attractive feature of this festival is cleanliness. It is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. The idea that Laxmi does not bless and unclean family is worth entertaining.The most important aspect of this festival is worshiping of the different animals. Thus people worship nature.

Saraswati Puja (Shree Panchami)

Saraswati Puja or Shree Panchami is a day to celebrate the birthday of Sarswati. This festival falls on the month ofJanuary/Februbary.Which is falls in the season of spring & for Nepali people this season is loveliest for all. Saraswoti is known as the Goddess of Learning. People go to Saraswati temple and worship her by 'Tika' flowers and leaves. In this day people from school students to scholars worship their pens and books to please the Goddess and expect her favor in their studies so they become wise and knowledgeable, arts and crafts is worshipped at Saraswati's temple. People also throng around the idol of Goddess Saraswoti, especially in Swayambhunath and offer flowers, sweets, fruits, etc. On this day, small children are taught to read and write and people write on the stomes and slabs with chalks and pencils. This day is regarded as a very auspicious day for marriages too as it is believed that Goddess Saraswati herself blesses the couples. Normally it is the astrologers who fix the marriage date and time in Nepal.

Indra Jatra

Indra Jatra is a festival of marked dances and chariot processions. It's celebrated in the Kathmandu valley. It runs for the whole week. It falls in September. This exciting festival hails the conclusion of the monsoon season while honoring Indra, lord of the heavens. It is an exotic festival which offers the visitors a magical opportunity to witness (see) many aspects of Newar
Centering around Durbar square, the festival begins with the erecting of an enormous pine pole, known as the Yosin. Masks and sacred images of the deities, especially Indra and the wrathful Lord Bhairab, are placed on decorated platforms so that the gods can watch the festivities along with the townspeople.
The whole valley is enchanted with the air of the festival. The masked dancers embody the divinities and recount their stories. Mythical tales ate made by storytellers and folk drama groups. A procession of mourners moves through the streets carrying incense.They light oil lamps to illuminate the temples and cast their mystical shadows across the images of the gods.
On the third day, silence falls over the Durbar Square as an aura of expectancy surrounds the spectators. This is the day of Goddess Kumari's chariot procession through Kathmandu. It continues through different parts of the city for the next two days. When the festivities finally come to an end, the Yosin is ceremoniously lowered and removed to the sacred Bagmati river.
cultural and religious heritage. Spectators will see exciting performances by sacred masked dancers and dramatic presentations of mythological events.

Hari Talika (Teej)

Teej is one of the greatest festival of Hindu women. It falls on the month of Bhadra. It is mainly celebrated by married Hindu women. On the day of Teej, the women wear beautiful clothes with dazzling ornaments. Some women go to their maiti (parents home) to see their sister and relatives. Almost all of them wear red Saree, blouse and various kinds of ornaments. They pray lord Shiva for the good health and long life of their husbands. Even some unmarried girls have a fast. They pray lord Shiva for a good and lovely husband in future. In the previous day of Teej the women eat various kinds of foods as a special meal 'Dar'. They also have foods at mid-night. But on drink even a single drop of water. Some women invite their priest to perform religious rituals. Most of them go to the temples of lord Shiva and worship. They pray lord Shiva. Then they sing and dance freely. They sing the songs of happiness and sorrow. Their songs have an image of mixed expressions. Some express the good behave of their family and a happy life but some songs express the bad behaves of the family and a sad life.
The following day, they complete their fast after doing a religious ritual 'Godan' and worshipping Agasti rishi, the god of hunger. In this way Teej is over.

Maghi

In Nepal living people east Mechi to west Mahakali this festival is celebrated by Tharu specially. Every year in the first day of Magh this festival is celebrated and in every place this festival is known different name like as Maghi sakranti, Maghi Dewani, Maghauta etc. In the last day of Paush there scarifies pigs in every Tharu's home. In the day of Maghi all the members of family are went to take bath to source of water like river, pond tap ,etc. In local language it is called 'Magh lahan' also. After taking bath they return to their home and touch to things like daal, rice, salt and they took bless from their elder person like father, mother, grand-father, grand-mother. The other introduction of Maghi is singing song of this day which is called 'Dhamar'. In Tharu society Maghi is taken as the day of new year. In the other hand the people are free in this day who used to stay as a servant in his boss's house. After this day they can decide of stay there or not. So it is know as the day of freedom also. The government of Nepal has make a decision to give one day leave to all government offices of Nepal.
So it is taken as a special festival in Nepal.

Maha Shivaratri

In many festival in Nepal Maha Shiva Ratri festival is also a most important festival of Hindu people of Nepal. It generally falls in Falgun Krishna Chaturdashi. In this festival we pray lord Shiva Mahadev. In this day many people go to Pashupati in Kathmandu and local Shiva temple to worship Shiva by milk and flowers and leaves. In Pashupati Nath temple in Kathmandu there gathered lots of people and worship lord Shiva's statue.In this day Nepali Hindu people eat nothing ( keep fasting) all the day. After sunset they worship Panchakanya (five girls) by taking Tika and people stay all night with out sleep. People worship Shiva god in day and at night they sing song about lord Shiva and Parbati in every Shiva temple.

People believe that this day had lord Shiva was born so, people celebrate the birthday of Shiva in this day very happily.

In this day people collect fire wood and timber in day and fire it at night and stay whole night around the fire. People took Tika of that fire ash to get strength (power) like lord Shiva, they believe.

In this way Hindu Nepali people celebrate this festival Maha Shaiva Ratri in Nepal.

Gaura Festival

This festival is observed especially in the middle- west and far west parts of Nepal. Similarly, it is also celebrated in northern India, particularly in Kumaun and Garhwal (of Utter Pradesh).
This festival falls in the month of Bhadra. It begins from the birthday of lord Krishna. That is, Krishna Janmastami, and lasts for three days.
In Nepal, this festival is observed by worshipping Shiva and Parvati along with Ganesh.
Women keep fasting on the day of Krishna Janmastami (birthday of lord Krishna). Later they form a grass-made idol of Shiva and Parvati. They not only worship the idol but also offer a mixture of five kinds of grains, known as Panchbirudi, to it. This festival is also called Biruda Parva, Perhaps by reason of Panchabirudi. On this occasion women put on new clothes and enjoy singing their traditional songs.
According to legendary, the festival is said to have been celebrated for the last four centuries, in memory of Satidevi's bodily sacrifice to the burning altar and her re-birth from Himalaya Pravat.

Ramjan (Id)

Ramjan, known as fasting period, is a great festival among Muslims. It is observed in accordance with the lunar calendar. Its peculiarity is that it falls back by fifteen days every year. while celebrating this festival, Muslims keep one month long fasting. Every day they take food only after the sun has set.
Eid-ul-Fitr is also the main feature of this festival. This festival is known as the 'Festival of the Breaking of the fast'. It occurs as soon as the new moon is sighted at the end of the month of fasting.
The final day of Ramjan is called Id when they put on new fine clothes. On seeing the moon of the Id, they feel very much delight es. They offer their prayer in the mosque. They also embrace each other with the recitation of "Id Mubarak Ho" on the performance of Ramjan.

Christmas

The 25th of December is the day on which Christmas, a great festival among Christians. This festival falls every year on this day. Christians believe this day to be Christ's birthday, on this very occasion Christian people exchange their best wishes and also gifts among themselves. They buy X-mas tree and light colourful lights on the tree by illuminating it.

They express their delight by singing and playing on musical instruments on this very occasion. Children look happy since their parents buy them new clothes and play things as well. They also send postcards to their friends and relatives who live abroad.

In this way The Christmas festival is celebrated in Nepal by Nepali Christian People.

Losar

The word Losar is formed of two words Lo(=year) sar(=new) which mean New Year.
Among the Sherpa community Losar is a great festival which falls in the month of Paush according to the Hindu calendar. This festival is obsered by following the Manjushri tradition.
In this festival Sherpa people wish happy life among themselves. On this occasion they wear new fine clothes and make various merriment. They eat a special food containing different nine kinds of substances.
They hoist their religious flags at the top of their houses. They also offer flowers, food and money to their Gods in order to please them. In the end they scatter flour as a symbol of best wishes.

Chhatha

The festival Chhatha falls on the sixth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik, 4 days after the Bhaitika(Tihar). It is particularly observed by Maithili people living in the Terai. However, other people are also seen to observe it in the Terai.
This festival is observed by worshipping the sun. On the previous day, that is on the fifth day of Kartik Shukla. The devotees eat nothing and worship the setting sun and then eat.
On the very day of Chhatha , they go to near by river or pond early in the morning. They take their bath there and worship the rising sun. After this performance, all the family members join together and take different types of sweets.
It is important to worship the sun-god with flowers and burning lamps. It is believed that after this festival people get remedy for skin disease since they take baths in very cold water at the time of sun sine. People believe that this festival gives them pleasure and prosperity in life.

Gaijatra

One of such local festivals is Gaijatra festival or the cow festival. On Gaijatra every family from which someone has died recently must honour the soul of the dead. They send religious procession through the streets. They decorate a cow or a young boy colourfully. The procession consists of a family priest, a group of musicians and a small boy decorated to represents as a holy man or Yogi.
People perform rituals at their homes early in the morning. Each of the procession groups starts to join other similar groups. These procession groups walk past temples, holy places and idols. Each of such groups must pass by the ancient royal palace - the Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu Nepal.
When the cow processions return to their homes, they again perform religious ceremonies.
This festival began during king Pratap Malla's reign in the eighteenth century. His queen was very sad at the death of their son. In order to her the king announced that he would give a good prize to anyone the could fill the queen with joy.
People gathered in large groups in front of the palace. They had worn ablurd costumes. The queen who was watching the processions burst into laughing.

Holi ( Phagu-Purnima)

Holi is called colour festival. It is falls on the full moon day of Phalgun. According to mythology Holika, a demon woman, was burnt to death. In pleasing memory of the burning of Holika, people celebrate it with pleasure. Since it generally falls on the month of Phalgun it has got its name as Phagu, too.
Hindu people go to the open fields and streets, and scatter different colours over one another. People also enjoy pouring colourful water onto one another in their own homes as well.
Children are seen to throw water-filled ballons at passer-by, which is not a good behaviour.
The Hilly regions people celebrate this festival in full moon day and the Terai people of Nepal celebrate this festival after one day of Hilly region.