About Nepal: Culture and Tradition

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About Nepal: Culture and Tradition

17-21 minutes
Religous Traditions and Festivals
Nepal is a multicultural,multilingual and

multiethinic country.Similarly, Nepal has the people of
different religious tolerance among the people.However,the
people who follow Hindu religion are in great
number.Besides this,Buddhism is another popular religion of
Nepal.The founder of Buddhism is Gautam Buddha.Who was
born in Lumbini,Nepal.He is famous as the Light of
Asia.There are many followers of
Islam,Christianity,Shikhism,Jainism and Kirat religion.Every
religion has its own values and norms.People of every
religion can celebrate their festivals according to their culture
and traditions.Some important festivals are as follow.
Some festival which is celebrated by different religious

communities of Nepal.And This festival is also known as
national festivals
Dashain:
The Hindus all over the world celebrate Dashain.It is

also known as Bada Dashain,Durga Puja,Dusshera and
Kalipuja.It falls in autumn in the months of either September
or October every year.It is celebrated for fifteen days from
the day of Ashwin Shukla Pratipada i.e., Ghatasthapana till
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Purnima,Goddess Durga is worshipped on the occasion.She

is regarded as the Goddess of Power.
The elder members in the family

put Tika and Jamara and bestow blessings to the younger
members on the tenth day to mark this occasion .The tenth
day is remembered as the Day of Victory i.e,Vijaya
Dashami.The other major days of Dashain are Phulpati of
Saptami,kalaratri or Mahasthami and Mahanawami,which fall
on the seventh,eighth and the ninth day respectively.
It is a festival of union in the family,of great joy
and extreme delight.People put on new clothes and eat
delicious food.They go to Dashain fair and exchange
greetings and good wishes.People,rich or poor,enjoy alike.
It is believed that this festival is celebrated to mark

the victory of Goddess Durga over Maisasur,a demon,and
Lord Rama over Ravana,the demon King of Lanka.This
festival,therefor,symbolises the victory of good over evil and
truth over falsehood.
Tihar:
It is another great festival of the Hindus.People
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celebrate it with great pomp and show.It comes about fifteen

days after Dashain.This festival is also called Diwali or
Deepawali i.e.,the festival of lights.It is observed for five days
from Kartik Krishna Dwadashi up to Kartik Pratipada.The first
two days of this festival are dedicated to Kag i.e.,the
crow,and Kukur,i.e.,the dog.The third day is called Gai Tihar
or Laxmi Puja.Cows are worshipped on this day in the
morning and Goddess Laxmi in the evening.She is regarded
as the Goddess of Wealth.People clean their
houses,decorate and illumine them all night by putting
candles,small oil lamps or colourful electric bulbs.And they
pray that Goddess Laxmi dwell in their
house.People,particularly girls and women play Bhailo in
groups on the night of Laxmi Puja.The Gobardhan Puja is
observed on the fouth fay and oxen are worshipped.People
play Dheusi during the night and the next day.
The final day is called the Bhaitika.On this day,sisters

worship their brothers and wish for their long and healthy
life.They put tika and garland them.They serve different
varieties of sweets,fruits and delicacies to their brothers.The
brothers,in turn, give them cash and gifts.
It is believed that this festival is celebrated to mark the

return of Lord Rama to his Kingdom in Ayodhya after
fourteen years in exile.
Chhat
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Chhat is a great festival of the Hindus of central

Terai.especially the Maithili people.It is a festival of the Sun-
God.It is celebrated on the fifth day of Kartik Shukla,six days
after the Laxmi Puja.Both men and women celebrate this
festival.However,only women observe fast during the day for
three days,worship the setting sun in the evening and then
only eat.On the sixth day,they all gather around richly
decorated platforms near a local pond or a nearby river early
in the morning.They take bath and workship the rising sun
with flowers and lamps for the long life and good health of
their husbands.After finishing the worship,all the family
members sit together and eat variety of sweet.It brings
happiness and joy in the family and community.
Lhosar:
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Lhosar is a Buddhist
festival.Lho means year and Sar means new.Lhosar thus
basically is a New Year festival.It is celebrated mainly in the
Himalayan region by the Gurungs,Tamangs and the
Sherpas.They celebrate Lhosar according their own
community and customs.Some celebrate it on 15th of
Poush,some on Magh Shukla Pratipada and others on
Falgun Shukla Pratipada.The Gurungs have Tamu
Lhosar,the Tamangs celebrate Sonam Lhosar and the
Sherpas observe Gyalpo Lhosar.
Lhosar is a festival of feast,joy and dance.people draw
swastiks,symbol of peace and good fortune ,in their
homes.They also decorate their homes with paintings of
natural elements like the Himalayas,the sun,and the
Moon.They wear new clothes and eat sumptuous
meals.They generally gather at public places and play
games,engage in fun,sing and dance.They alos visit their
elders and seek their blessings for a healthy and prosperous
New year.They exchange greetings and gifts with each
other.
Christmas
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:The most important festival for the Christians is

Christmas.It is also known as X-Mas.The letter X represents
the holy sign Cross for the Christians.It falls on 25 December
every year.It marks the birth anniversity of Jesus Christ,the
founder of Christianity.It is generally celebrated for three
days from 24 to 26 December.
Christmas eve is celebrated on 24 December.On Christmas

eve,they decorate a pine tree called Christmas Tree with
candles,colourful papers,balloons and flowers.They keep
the presents and cards given by their friends and relatives
under this tree.They open them later to know who owns the
most and best of them.They have great fun.
The Christmas father is Santa Claus.It is believed that he

comes during the night and leave presents for the children in
their socks.During the day,they go to church and pray
together.They put on special caps and new clothes.
26 December is known as Boxing Day.Rich people give

boxes full of gifts or money or food and clothes ot the poor
people.They visit their friends and relatives on the occasion
and have a lot of fun,is celebrated as the New Year Day.The
christian era started from this date from the time of jesus
Christ.They exchange New Year greetings and wish each
other good health and prosperity in life.
Eid:
Eid is a New Year festival of the Muslim community

according to the Hijri or Hijaratera.The Hijriera began from
the time of Prophet Mohammad who is the messanger of
their Allah.All the Muslims follow the Hijri calender.It is
believed that some people threatened to kill Prophet
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Mohammad while he was preaching his ideas.He along with

his followers,therefore,left Mecca for Medina.This journey is
called Hijara which means migration.Mecca and Medina are
thus the two most holy places of the Muslims.
The Muslims observe a month long fast called Roza during

the month of Ramjan.They do not eat anything,not even
drink water during daytime.All the family members sit
together and eat after sun set.They believe that this will
purge and discipline them.They celebrate the last day of
Ramjan as Eid-ul-Fitr.They congratulate,embrace and greet
each other Eid Mubark which means Happy New Year.They
put on new clothes,eat variety of sweets and visit their
friends and relatives.They go to the mosques and read
Namaz.They also give alms called Zakat to the poor,disabled
and needy people.
All these religious festivals carry the message of love and

peace.They help to foster friendship,brotherhood and peace
in society.Hence,they promote national unity and integration.
Maghe Sangkranti
Maghe Sangkranti has a great importance in the

Nepalese society.Most of the Nepalese festivals are based
on lunar calender.Yet there are some festivals which are
based on solar calender.Nawabarsha(New Year),15th
Asar,Saune Sangkranti along with the Maghe Sagrakanti are
the festivals based on solar calender.
Sangkranti means the first day of the month

.Therefore,Maghe Sangkranti is observed on the first day of
the month –Magh.This festival is observed to mark the end of
winter season.During December 22nd the sun comes
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gradually to norhern hemisphere,and the palces at the

nothern hemisphere start to get warmer.
Maghe Sangkranti is a social festival.It is celebrated in

different ways in different parts of the country.In hilly regions
people gather at the riverside and take bath early in the
morning and eat Til ko Laddu(a kind of sweet made of
sesame),boiled roots(yam,sweet potato,potato,etc.)and
Khichadi (dish made with rice and lentil together ).It is
believed that all the food that we eat on this day shall have
been cooked at the previous day(end of the Poush
month)except Khichadi.In terai,especially in Tharu
community,this day is celebrated as ‘Maghi’.This day marks
the New year in their community.Many of the fairs are
organized at different parts of the country.The fun and
excitement of these fairs are remembered throughout the
year.
This is the one of the days of celebration of social value.such

celebrations construct our culture and traditions.It is our duty
to conserve these festivals which are celebrated by different
communities of the country.
Ram Nawami
Ram Nawami is one of the important festivals of

all the Hindu people of Nepal.It falls on the 9th day of the full
moon fortnight of Chaitra.It is believed that the Lord Ram
was born on this day.Lord Ram was one of the most
influential incarnations of Lord Vishnu who is one of the
Trinity.Lord vishnu is the God who takes care of all the living
beings after being created by Brahma.It is believed Lord
Mahesh (Shiva)takes the life later on.
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Ram was an ideal person.He was obedient to his parents

and the caretaker of responsibilities.We gain Knowledge of
obedience,brotherhood,peace,endurance,tolerance,apology,justice
and above all the truthfulness by studying his life.
Many people observe this day with fasting .Early in the

morning people visit the temples of Lord Ram.A grand fair
takes places at Ram Janaki Temple in Janakpur.

Religous Traditions and Festivals
Nepal is a multicultural,multilingual and multiethinic

country.Similarly Nepal has the people of different religious
tolerance among the people.However,the people who follow
Hindu religion are in great number.Besides this,Buddhism is
another popular religion of Nepal.The founder of Buddhism is
Gautam Buddha.Who was born in Lumbini,Nepal.He is
famous as the Light of Asia.There are many followers of
Islam,Christianity,Shikhism,Jainism and Kirat religion.Every
religion has its own values and norms.People of every
religion can celebrate their festivals according to their culture
and traditions.Some important festivals are as follow.
Janai Purnima
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Janai Purnima is the

common name of the festival Rishi Tarpani or Raksha
Bandhan.This festival falls on Shrawan Shukla Purnima (The
full moon day of Shrawan).This day is one of the most
important days for the Hindu community because it has
highly religious value.People take bath early in the morning
and the male members of Brahman and Chetri change Janai
for the year.Janai is the sacred thread,which they start to
wear after the Bratabandha or Upanayan ceremony.On the
same day all the people receive another sacred thread
yagyopavit(Raksha Bandan).It is believed that this tread
prevents them from on every kind of misfortunes.In the terai
sisters tie Rakhi on the brothers’ wrists,secure their brothers
making from any kind of mishaps.On this day all the people
of Newar community prepare a special Kind of soup,Kwanti
which is made by mixing nine different kinds of seeds.
Teej
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This festival is

celebrated by the women of Hindu society.This festival falls
on Bhadra Shukla Tritiya (the third day of the full moon of
Bhadra).This festival is also known as Haritalika.On this day
all the women observe fasting for the whole day.It is believed
that in the Vedic period,Parvati observed fasting on this day
hoping to marry with Lord Shiva.And just after that she got
married with him.So,the married women celebrate this
festival for better status and long lives of their husbands,and
the unmarried girls wish for good husbands.On the eve of
Teej(The evening before the fasting day)all the women eat
‘Dar’ with the family members.Dar is a special meal,prepared
for that special day of Teej.
Shree Panchami
The festival which is celebrated on the fifth day of

Magh Shukla Panchami (the fifth day of the full moon day of
Magh)is famous as Shree Pancchami.This is also called as
Basanta Panchanmi as spring season begins from this
day.Saraswati is worshipped on this occasion Saraswati is
the goddess of learning and wisdom.Most of the people of
Hindu community go to the near by Saraswati temple and
worship her.This is the special day for the students.People
believe that this students.People believe that day is the best
day for their children to start formal learning because they
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believe that goddess Saraswati gives them a divine blessing

on this day.
In Buddhist community,this day is called as Manju

Panchami.Manjushree is the god of learning for the
Buddhists.
Udhauli/Ubhauli
This is the main festival of the Rai c ommunity.This

festival is celebrated on two days of the year.The first is the
Udhauli and other is the Ubhauli.Udhauli falls at
Kartik/Mangsir and Ubhauli in Baishakh/Jestha.This festival
is celebrated differently at different places.Some people
celebrate it with chandi Nach,some with Sakela or Sakewa or
some with Sakela or Sakewa or some other with Baishake or
Badanmet.It is because Rai community has different cultures
at different places.At this festival Nakchhong(the
priest)recites Mundhum at different religious places like
Chandithan,Margathan or Mangkhim.At every household
people celebrate this festival worshipping ancestors and
dance playing with Dholjhyamta.They eat different delicious
foods and enjoy together.
Nepal’s social customs
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Introduction
Nepal is a multilingual,multiracial and multi-religious

country.It is said that Nepal is garden of four castes and
thirty-six sub-castes.People from different castes and
religions live here in mutual cooperation and friendly
environment.They make a common culture,which is called
Nepali culture.The people living in mountains are of different
cultures than those living in hills and the Terai.Some of the
social characters,cultures,traditions,practices and customs
are described below.
Brahmins and Chhetris
Brahmins and Chhetris live in all the

ecological zones like the Mountain,Hill and Terai.They follow
Hindu tradition.They are very rich in culture and high position
in the society.After eleven days of child birth ,the family
celebrates Nwaran ceremony which is naming
day.Bratabandha is performed for a son.The boy is given
sacred thread(janai)after some religious rites.After reaching
adulthood individuals perform marriage.Marriage is an
important social custom.Recently,love and arranged
marriages are also becoming popular.They burn the dead
body according to Hindu tradition.They celebrate many
festivals like Dashain,Tihar,Teej,Janai purnima,shivarati.Holi
and Chhat are especially celebrated in the Terai region.
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Newars
Mostly Newars live in Kathmandu Valley.Newars are very

rich in their culture and customs.It is said that there is seldom
a month when Newari festival does not take place.The
Nwaran is done from the fourth to eleventh day of the
birth.Belbiwaha (lhi)is very famous among the Newars.They
have customs of Gufa for the girls.Both love and arranged
marriages are practiced.Dead body is burnt according to
their tradition.They celebrate Dashian,Tihar (Mhapuja)Gai
Jatra,Ghode Jatra,Indra Jatra,Gathemangal,Kumari
Jatra,Maghe sankranti etc.with great extravagance.
Magar
Magar mostly live in the hills.The name giving ceremony is

performed from the elevnth to fifteenth day of the baby’s
birth.Magars have become the most tolerable caste among
the Nepalese.Love,arranged and Jari marriage are seen in
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the Magar community.Marriage between ‘Mama Cheli’ and

‘Phupu Chelo’is common in Magar community.They cheer
their life everyday with eating and dancing.The deceased is
burnt in this community.Koura Nach,Ghatu Nach,Nag
Pooja,etc.are popular festivals among the Magars.
Sherpas
The Sherpas live in the high hills and mountains.The

Nwaran ceremony is celebrated on the third,seventh and
eleventh days of the baby’s birth.Mostly they belong to
Buddhism.Love,arranged and jari marriages are
practised.Dead body is buried in a
crematorium.Lhosar,Dumji,Osho,etc.are the famous festivals
among the Sherpas.
Tharus
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The Tharus live mostly in the Terai.They are very simple
minded people.Their perculiar culture is famous all over the
world.The Nwaran is performed from the sixth to ninth day of
the birth.Both love and arranged marriages are practised.The
dead body is either burned or
burried.Maghi,Phagu,Jitia,etc.are the famous festivals in
Tharu community.
Limbus
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The Limbus live in the eastern mountains of

Nepal.Nwaran(Name giving ceremony)of girl child is done on
third day,but boy’s name is given on the fourth day of the
birth.They worship nature like rivers and Himal.Love
marriage,arranged marriage and ‘Chori Bibaha’are very
common in Limbu community.The dead body is buried in a
fixed crematorium.They celebrate famous festivals Udhauli
on the full moon day of Mangsir and Ubhauli on the full moon
day of Baishakh.Dhan Nacha is famous folk dance of Limbu
community.
Rais
Rais community mostly live in eastern hills of Nepal.They

give name to the newly baby from the third day to the sixth
day of their birth.They follow both love and arranged
marriages.After death the dead body is buried in a grave in a
fixed place.They have a peculiar custom of firing guns during
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funeral procession,Chandi Naach(Sakela),Nwagi and

Badangmet are their festivals.
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About Nepal: Culture and Tradition

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About Nepal: Culture and Tradition about:reader?url=http://nepalimade.blogspot.in/p/interestin-plac...

About Nepal: Culture and Tradition

Religous Traditions and Festivals

Nepal is a multicultural,multilingual and

Some festival which is celebrated by different religious

The Hindus all over the world celebrate Dashain.It is

Purnima,Goddess Durga is worshipped on the occasion.She

The elder members in the family

It is believed that this festival is celebrated to mark

It is another great festival of the Hindus.People

celebrate it with great pomp and show.It comes about fifteen

The final day is called the Bhaitika.On this day,sisters

It is believed that this festival is celebrated to mark the

Chhat is a great festival of the Hindus of central

:The most important festival for the Christians is

Christmas eve is celebrated on 24 December.On Christmas

The Christmas father is Santa Claus.It is believed that he

26 December is known as Boxing Day.Rich people give

Eid is a New Year festival of the Muslim community

Mohammad while he was preaching his ideas.He along with

The Muslims observe a month long fast called Roza during

All these religious festivals carry the message of love and

Maghe Sangkranti has a great importance in the

Sangkranti means the first day of the month

gradually to norhern hemisphere,and the palces at the

Maghe Sangkranti is a social festival.It is celebrated in

This is the one of the days of celebration of social value.such

Ram Nawami is one of the important festivals of

Ram was an ideal person.He was obedient to his parents

Many people observe this day with fasting .Early in the

Nepal is a multicultural,multilingual and multiethinic

Janai Purnima is the

This festival is

The festival which is celebrated on the fifth day of

believe that goddess Saraswati gives them a divine blessing

In Buddhist community,this day is called as Manju

This is the main festival of the Rai c ommunity.This

Nepal’s social customs

Nepal is a multilingual,multiracial and multi-religious

Brahmins and Chhetris

Brahmins and Chhetris live in all the

Mostly Newars live in Kathmandu Valley.Newars are very

Magar mostly live in the hills.The name giving ceremony is

the Magar community.Marriage between ‘Mama Cheli’ and

The Sherpas live in the high hills and mountains.The

The Limbus live in the eastern mountains of

Rais community mostly live in eastern hills of Nepal.They

funeral procession,Chandi Naach(Sakela),Nwagi and

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