It is said that there are more festivals in Nepal than there are days in the year. Most Nepalese festivals are celebrated in homes and there in often little to see or photograph. Festivals complicate treks because government offices close, so you can’t get a trekking permit, and porters disappear home, occasionally leaving you at the side of the trail with your baggage.

Festivals are scheduled in accordance with the Nepalese calendar and the phase of the moon and can vary over a period of almost a month with respect to the Gregorian (Western) calendar. Nepalese months overlap western months. The annual festival cycle through the Nepalese year is:

Baisakh (April to May)

Naya Barsa and Bisket Jatra

 The Nepalese new year always falls in mid-April. The people of  Bhaktapur celebratee the Bisket Jatra (Death of the snake demons Festival) on this day. Two chariots are drawn pell-mell through the narrow alleyways of the town and a mighty tug of war ensues. The winners draw the chariots to their locale. A huge lingam pole is erected in the middle of the town by drunken revellers.

Mata Tirtha Aunsi

 mother’s Kay is the day when children offer gifts, money and sweets to their mother and literally look at their mother’s face. Those whose mother in dead makes a ritual pilgrimage to Mata Tirtha Aunsi near Thankot.

Rato Machhendranath Jatra

The red (rato) Machhendra festival, also known as bhota jatra or the Festival of the vest is held annually in Patan just before the monsoon on a date decided by astrologers. Both Hindus and Buddhists celebrate the festival. The idol of Machhendra is brought from Bungmati village to Pulchowk and paraded on a huge tottering chariot through the alleys of Patan to Jawalakhel. On an auspicious day, the king and queen of Nepal, along with top government officials and thousands of devotees, descend upon Jawalakhel to catch a glimpse of the jewel-encrusted bhoto (vest) that Machhendra has been safeguarding for centuries.

Buddha Jayanti

The Buddha’s birth is held in Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. Similar festivals are held at Swayambhunath and Boudhanath. Processions carry the Buddha’s image and all through the night, glowing butter lamps and blazing electric lights celebrate Buddha’s birth.

Shrawan (July to August)

On the Night of the Witch, street urchins set up barricades all over the city and solicit donations from mothrists, bikers and even pedestrians. A mock funeral procession is held later in the day, followed by a feast. Effigies of the devil, made of bamboo poles and leaves, are erected on evry crossroad of the city.

Nag Panchami

On the Day of the Snake God, Brahmin priests are hired by all households to cleanse thir houses by pasting a picture o f the Maga (snake) over their door ways. Pujas (Prayers) are performed and offerings of milk and homey are left for the snke gods. The magas are paciffied through prayers and their protection and bloessings are sought.

Gokarna Aunsi

Father’s day is similar to mother’s Day. People offer sweets, money and gifts to their fathers and look at their father’s face. Those without fathers go to the Bagmati River at Gokarna to bathe and have their father’s soul blessed.

Janai Purnima

The Festival of the Sacred Thread is also known as Raksha Bhandhan and in celebrated on the full moon day of August. Higher caste Hindu men change the sacred thread they wear around their chests. In the hills of Nepal, devotees descend upon Sacred Cows, children and adults dressed as cows pass through the city streets to honor the souls of their relatives who have recently died. It is also the day on which newspapers are legally allowed to defame and slander any and all persons.

Gai Jatra

During the Festival of the sacred cows, children and adults dressed as cows pass through the city streets to honor the souls of their relatives who have recently died. It is also the day on which newspaters are legally allowed to defame and slander any and all persons.

Bhadra-August to September

Krishna Jayanti

Krishna’s birthday is celebrated with a huge festival at the stone temple of Krishna in Patan Durbar Square. Hymns and religious songs are sung all night by devotees. The king and queen of Nepal pay their respects to Krishna at the Krishna Mandir.

Teej Brata

On the day of fasting for wives, all Nepalese wives fast from sunup t0o midnight of that day to ensure that their husbands have good fortuve and a long life. Heavily be jewelled women wearing red saris descend upon Pashupatinath to dance and sing the day away. Colourfully attired hill women trek down to Kathmandu for this festival.

Indra Jatra

The Festival of the King of Gods is an eight –day festival at Kathmandu Durbar square. The purpose of the festival is to ask harvest of thrice crop. This is the day the living Goddess, or Kumari, of Kathmandu presides over a colorful ceremony attended by the king and queen, government officials and foreign diplomats.

Kartik (October to November)

Dashain (Durga Pooja)

The 10 days festival of Dasain, celebrating Durga’s trump over evil, is the biggest festival in Nepal. All creeds and castes participate. People visit their families all over the country to rejoice over the goddess Durga;s triumph. Banks and government offices are closed and most of the country comes to a standstill for the duration of the festival. It is difficult to start a trek during Dashain because buses and planes are jammed and porters are totally unavailable.

Tihar (Diwali)

The ‘festival of lights’ is the second most important festival in Nepal during which people pay homage to Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Houses are given new coats of paint, hundreds of oil lamps and candles are lit, firecrakers are recklessly tossed into the streets and most households are packed with men gambling the night away. The goddess blesses gamblers who have made her happy.

Poush(December to January)

Seto Machhendranath Snan

The seto (white) Machendra is Kathmandu;s wersion of Patan’s Rato (Red ) Machhendra. The chariot of Machhendra is built on Durbar Marg and dragged to Ratna Park. On the day deemed auspicious by astrologers, the living Goddess presides over a function where Machhendra is bathed by priests.

Magh (January to February)

Maghey Sankranti

The first day of the Nepalese month of Magh, marking the end of winter, is an important festival all over the country. The Sankhamul Ghat in Patan is alive with devotees taking ritual baths in the Bagmati River, even though this is one of the coldest days of the year

Falgun(February to March)

Losar

A two-week festival of drunken revelry commemorates the Tibetan New Year in February. Though strictly a Buddhist affair, Hindus (Like Tamangs) who believe in both religions, also participate. The Sherpas are likely to be in a drunken stupor for two weeks, so treks tend to be difficult to arrange at this time.

Shiva Ratri

On the sacred night dedicated to Shiva, thousands of hindu pilgrims descend upon Pashupatinath, the holiest Hindu temple in the world- the abode of Shiva. Bonfires burn throughout the bight to seek Shiva’s blessings. All wood that is not nailed down is stolen by urchins who then spend all night basking in Shiva’s glorious bonfires.

Holi

 Nepal’s water-throwing festival is a merry affair during which people  douse each other with buckets of scarlet liquid and daub red power on their faces. The youngsters nowadays use acrylic paint and sewer water to enjoy themselves. Hashish cakes and bhaang (a flavored drink) are legally sold on this day.

Chaitra (March to April)

Ghora Jatra

The Nepal army takes over the Tundikhel parade ground in Kathmandu on horse racing day to display its skills in warfare, acrobatics, motorcycle stunts and horse racing. Legend has it that the horses are raced to trample devils who may rise out of the ground to create havoc.

Balaju Jatra

Thousand of pilgrims keep an all night vigil at the Swayambhumath Temple. The following day they trek to the 22 waterspouts at Balaju for a ritual bath.

Religion

In Nepal, Hinduism and Buddhisnm are mingled into a complex blend, which is often impossible to separate. The Buddha was actually born in Nepal but the Buddhist religion first arrived in the country around 250 BCE (Before Common Era or BC), introduced, so it is said, by the great Indian Buddhist emperor Ashoka himself. Later Buddhism gave way to Hinduism, but from around the 8th century CE, the Tantric form of Buddhism practiced I Tibet also began to make its way across the Himalaya into Nepal. Today Buddhism is mainly practiced by the people of the high Himalaya, like the Sherpas, and also by Tibetans who have settled in Nepal. Several ethnic groups, like Tamangs and Gurungs in the Middle Hills and the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley, practise both Buddhaism and Hinduism.

Officially Nepal is a Hindu country, but in practice the religion os a strange blend of Hindu and tantric Buddhist beliefs, with a pantheon of Tantric deities tagged on to the list of Hindu gods or, in many cases, inextricably blended with them. Thus Avalokitesvara, the prime Bodhisattva of this Buddhist era, becomes Lokesvara, a manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva, and then appears as Machhendranath, one of the most popular gods of the Kathmandu Valley. Is he Hindu or Buddhist? Nobody can tell.

The vast majority of the population is Hindu, and Buddhists make up most of the balance. There are also small groups of Muslims and a few Christians. The Muslims are mainly found close to the border with India, and in the odd isolated village. Some ethnic groups such os the tharus and the Rais, have their own form of religion and worship the sun, moon and trees, though their practices retain many Buddhist and Hindu Influences.

Hinduism

India, the Indonesian island of Bali, the India Ocean island of Mauritius, and possibly Fiji, are the only places apart from Nepal where Hindus predominate, but it is the largest re3ligion in Asia in terms of the number of adherents. Hinduism is one of the oldest extant religions, with firm roots extension back to before 1000 BCE.

The Indus valley civilization developed a religion, which shows a close relationship to Hinduism in many ways. Later, it further developed on the subcontinent through the combined religious practices of the Dravidians and the Aryan invaders who arrived in the north of India around 1500 BCE. Around 1000BCE, the Vedic scriptures were introduced and gave the first loose framework to the religion.

Hinduism today has a bomber of holy books the most important being the four vedas, or Divine Knowledge, which are the foundation of Hindu philosophy. The Upanishads are contained within the vedas and delve into the metaphysical nature of the universe and soul. The Mahabharata in an epic poem describing in over 220,000 lines the battles between the Kauravas and Pandavas. It contains the story of Rama, and it is pronanle that the most famous Hindu epic, the Ramayana, was based on this. The Bhagavad Gita is a famous episode of the Mahabharat where Krishna relates his philosophies to Arjuana. 

Hinduism postulates that we will all go through a series of rebirths, or reincarntions, that eventually lead to moksha, the spiritual salvation wthich frees one from the cycle of rebirths. With eachy rebirth you can move closer to or farther from eventual moksha; the deciding factor is your karma, which is literally a law of cause and effect. Bad actions during your life result in bad drama, which ends in a lower reincarnation. Conversely, if your deeds and actions have been good you will reincarnate on a higher level and be a step closer to eventual freedom from rebirth.

Dharma is the natural law that defines the total social, ethical and spiritual harmony of your life. There are three categories of dharma, the first being the eternal harmony which involves the whole universe. The second category is the dharma that controls castes and the relations between castes. The third dharma is the moral code which an individual should follow.

The Hindu religion has three basic practices. They are pooja (worship), the cremation of the dead, and the rules and regulations of the caste system. There are four main castes: the Brahmin, or priest caste; the chhetris , or solders and governors; the vaisyas, or tradespeople and farmers; and the Sudras, or menial workers and craftspeople. These

Basic castes are then subdivided, although this is not taken to the same extent in Nepal as in India. Beneth all the castes are the Harijans, or untouchables, the lowest, casteless class for whom all the most menial and degrading tasks are reserved. Westerners and other non-Hindus are outside the caste system, and are therefore unclean. Westerners are not allowed to enter Hindu temples. Any food that is touched by a Welcomes ‘polluted’ and must be discarded. Westerners have trouble understanding Hinduism principally because of its vast pantheon of gods. In fact you can look upon all these different gods simply as pictorial representations of the many attributes of a god. The one omnipresent god usually has three physical representations. Brahma in the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer and reproducer. All three gods are usually shown with four arms, but Brahma has the added advantage of four heads.

Each god has an associated animal known as the ‘vehicle’ on which they ride, as well as a consort with certain attributes and abilities. Generally each god also holds symbols; you can often pick out which god is represented by the vehicle or symbols. Most temples are dedicated to one or other of the gods, but most Hindus profess to be either Vaishnavites (followers of shiva). A variety of lesser gods and goddesses also crowd the scene. The cow is, of course, the holy animal of Hinduism.

Hinduism is not a proselytizing religion since to cannot be converted. You’re either born a Hindu or you are not; you can never become one. Similarly, once you are a Hindu you cannot change your caste – you’re born into it and are stuck with it for the rest of that lifetime. Nevertheless Hinduism has a great attraction for many westerners and India’s ‘export gurus’ are numerous and successful. Because proselytizing and conversion are not part of Hindu tradition, Nepalese  law prohibits these practices, so Nepal has been spared the influence of missionaries and evangelists. 

Buddhism

Strictly speaking Buddhism is not a religion, since it is not centered on a god, but a system of philosophy and a code of morality. Buddhism was founded in northern India about 500BCE when Siddhartha Gautama, born a prince, achieved enlightenment. Gautam Buddhawas but the first Buddha but the fourth, and is boty expected to be the last ‘enlightened one’. Buddhists believe that the achievement of enlightenment is the goal of every being so eventually we will all reach Buddhahood.

The Buddha never wrote down his dharma or teachings, and a schism later developed so that today there are two major Buddhist schools. The Theravada or Hinayana, ‘doctrine of the elders’ or ‘small vehicle’, school holds that the path to nirvana, the eventual aim of all Buddhists, is and individual pursuit. In school holds that the combined belief of its fllowers will eventually be great enough to encompass all of humanity and bear it to salvation. To some, the less austere and ascetic Mahayana school is a ‘soft option’. Today it is chiefly practiced in Vietnam, Japan, and China, while the Hinalaya School is followed in Srilanka, Burma (Manmar) and Thailand, and by the Buddhist Newars in the Kathmandu Valley. There are other, sometimes more esoteric, divisions of Buddhism including the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet which is the version found in the Himalayan regions of Nepal. Tibetan Buddhism was influenced by the ancient animistic Bonpo tradition, and there are a few pockets of Bon-po remaining in Nepal, especially in Dolpo. 

The Buddha renounced his material life to search for enlightenment but, unlike other prophets, found that starvation did not lead to discovery. Therefore he developed his rule of the ‘middle way’, moderation in everything. The Buddha taught that all life is suffering, but that suffering comes from out sensual desires and the illusion that they are important. By following the ‘eight – fold path’ these desires will be extinguished and a state of nirvana, where they are extinct and we are free from their delusions, will be reached. Following this process requires going through a seri3es of rebirths until the goal is eventually reached and no more rebirths into the world of suffering are necessary. The path that takes you through this cycle of births is Karma, but this is not simply fate. Karma is a law of cause and effect; your actions in one life determine the role you will play and what you will have to go through in your next life.

In India Buddhism developed rapidly when it was embraced by the great emperor Ashoka. As his empire extended over much of the subcontinent, so Buddhism was carried forth. Later, however, Buddhism began to contract in India because it had never really taken a hold on the great mass of people. As Hinduism revived, Buddhism in India was gradually reabsorbed into the older religion.

Buddhism is more tole3rant of outsiders than is Hinduism; you will be welcome at most Buddhist temples and ceremonies. In Kathmandu and in the hills there are Buddhist monasteries that are willing to provide spiritual training and advice to Westerners.

Buddhism prohibits any form of killing, a contrast to Hinduism in which some forms of the religion require animal sacrifices to appease the goddess Kali.