Category Archives: Nepali Festivals

Aama ko Mukh herne / Mata Tirtha Aunshi (Nepali Mother’s day)

Posted on April 20, 2012 | 12 comments

As I have mentioned in many of my posts before,Nepal has a different calendar than the Gregorian calendar. So in Nepal people also celebrate Mother’s day on a different day than the western calendar. In Australia, Mother’s Day is the second Sunday of May every year but in Nepali calendar, it changes every year according to the positions of sun, moon and the planets. It falls on the last day of the dark fortnight of April or early May. This year, it happens to be on today,9 May 2013. It is commonly known as Aama ko Mukh here in Nepal. Aama ko Mukh here translates into seeing mother’s face.

When I was still in Nepal, I used to make a nice breakfast and buy my mum a small present which was the only thing that I could afford with my pocket money. My dad used to buy lots of sweets as well so that there were lots of delicacies for her to eat. Mum used to make Sagun (egg, bara) for my grandma(both dad’s mum and her mum) and we used to use the same for her as well.

In Nepal, if the children have left home/ married, they will come with presents and delicacies to spend time with their mother. The entire day is filled with festivities around the country.

Children whose mothers have already passed away visit the place called ‘Mata-Tirtha’ which is situated at about 15 km to the west of Kathmandu or some other holy place elsewhere in Nepal to make offerings to the souls of their departed mothers. Mata means mother; tirtha means a holy place. Thus, this name suggests the holy place for them to visit for making offerings to the deceased mothers once a year.

A religious festival is held at ‘Mata-Tirtha’ on the Mother’s day for a whole day. There is a legendary natural pond at ‘Mata-Tirtha’ where Nepali people pay homage to their deceased mothers. Thousands of people take a quick bath in the water flowing from the nearby stone spouts, and then they go to the holy pond to make offerings to their deceased mothers. They believe that the souls of their mothers come to this natural pond to accept their offerings on this day. Thereafter, they worship Shiva Linga located next to the holy pond.

A legend behind this day goes as follows. Shepherds used to quench their thirst with the cold water from the natural pond at the current day ‘Mata-Tirtha’ when they went to graze their cattle in a nearby forest. One day, one of the shepherds whose mother was already died happened to go to drink water from this pond she saw the image of her dead mother in the clear water of the pond. She was so excited by this that she went to every house in that village to tell them about how she had seen her mother’s image in the pond. Since then Nepali people have believed that they can see the image of their deceased mothers in the water of this holy spring. So, Nepali people from different parts of the country visit this pond on this day hoping to see the image of their departed mother. Thus, this place came to be a holy place for those who have lost their mothers. Also those who cannot go to Mata-Tirtha shower at home or take a quick dip in the water of a holy river early in the morning then offer a platter of sweets, fruits and money to a priest in the memory of their departed mother.

My MIL sent these gifts to my dad last Father’s day on my behalf

As I have describe in my previous post , in Nepal the first year of marriage is considered to be very important. So during every festival, there are things you are meant to do. This affects how you celebrate Dashain, Tihar, Father’s Day, Mother’s day and more. Last year, I had my first Father’s day after the wedding and my MIL made sure it was a special one for my dad. This year, it is my first Mother’s Day after the wedding so it will be really special for my mum. My MIL is doing everything that she can to make sure this day is memorable for my mum. I know a few details about what is going to happen but I will wait for things to happen today and will update in details about my special Mother’s day. Just so excited to Skype with my mum later and receive photos from Nepal afterwards.

So if you haven’t called you mum to wish her, do give her a call and make her smile. And to all the proud moms out there, Happy Mother’s day.

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Welcoming Nepali New Year 2069

Posted on April 13, 2012 | 15 comments

As most of you already know Nepal follows a different calendar than the Gregorian calendar so Nepali New Year falls on mid April instead of 1st of January. Bikram Sambat or Nepali Calendar or Nepali patro is approximately 56 years and 8½ months ahead of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike Gregorian months, the lengths of Nepali months are not predetermined, and change from year to year, varying from 29 days to 32 days. This year starting today is 1st of Baishak, 2069.

There are lots of celebrations for Nepali New year in Nepal but the most important one is a nine day long Bisket Jatra is held in Bhaktapur, which is 15 km east of Kathmandu. It is considered one of the liveliest cultural festivals in the world.

There is a legend that every man who married a Bhaktapur Princess died the first night. So, one brave prince after marrying the princess, stayed awake on the first night. He saw two serpents come out of the two nostrils of the princess when she was asleep. The prince quickly took out his sword and chopped off the serpents’ head . The next morning, the serpents were displayed on a pole in Bhaktapur and this continues till today in the form of Bisket Jatra Festival.

So on the first day of Bisket Jatra, a symbolic 25 ft Yoshin-Pole is erected in Taumadhi Tole of Bhaktapur.

Two days after the erection of the pole, the idols of Lord Bhairab and his female counterpart Bhadrakali 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. The winners of the tug-of-war are considered blessed with good fortune for the coming year.

On the last day of the festival the Bhairav Chariot is parked in Gahi Tole. At midnight the smaller Bhadrakali Chariot is repeatedly rammed against the Bhairav Chariot in a not very subtle display of their explosive copulation.

Variations on the Bisket Jatra theme can also be seen in the villages of Thimi and Bode. In the former there’s a parade of images of the gods, with villagers throwing red powder over them. In the latter, there’s a tongue-piercing ceremony, with one villager spending the day with an iron spike piercing his tongue.

Apart from this, there are lots of dance parties organised in Kathmandu this year to welcome the new year. In Sydney, tomorrow (14 April) we are going to celebrate new year with the Nepali band Nepathya. They are performing live in Sydney’s Town Hall. I’ll update about the event later.

Till then, Happy Nepali New Year 2069 everyone. Have Fun…

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Ghoda Jatra

Posted on March 22, 2012 | 7 comments

As always, no month passes in Nepal without a festival and today it is Ghoda Jatra (Festival of horses).

On this day there is a grand parade in Tundikhel, a large open ground in the middle of the city. It is believed that this festival began after the Kathmandu people buried a demon under the soil of Tundikhel show grounds. They say that he may rise again and cause terror in the world if he is not trampled on by horses each year. So every spring, this victory over evil is celebrated by organizing processions and grand display of show jumping, motorcycling feats, parachuting, aerobatics, bicycle races and gymnastics. The president, prime minister, ministers and other official along with, the Living Goddess Kumari, and thousands of people from all over the country observe this Jatra.

After this great function of horse ridding in Kathmandu, there is the Khat Jatra of the eight sister goddesses. The Newars of Kathmandu city observe this day as a family get together or ‘Pachare’. The chariot of Goddesses Lutidevi, Swetakali, Kankeshwori and Bhadrakali is brought to Ason, and the family get together of eight sister goddesses also takes place, as legend says.

At Bal Kumari area, in Patan during Ghode Jatra festival, a horse is intoxicated with spirit and an equally drunk person in a traditional Newari attire rides it and the townspeople chase the intoxicated animal through the streets amidst much cheering and clapping. This race is thought to have been commenced in the olden times by a certain king of Patan to give a better show in comparison to Tundikhel’s parade, as in those days no one from Patan could attend the show in Kathmandu as it was a rival kingdom, a time when Kathmandu valley was divided into three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.

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Holi / Phagu Purnima

Posted on March 7, 2012 | 8 comments

Holi is one of the many festivals celebrated by Hindus in Nepal. It is also known as Phagu Purnima which is a festival of colours.

Holi is celebrated in two days in Nepal, today as Phagu Purnima (except in Terai)  and tomorrow in Terai region as Holi.

Chir of Holi

People install  Holi pole, “Chir’, a bamboo pole, fringed with strips of cloth representing good luck charms indicating the arrival of the Holi festival. This Chir pole is erected a week before the Holi festival is celebrated at all the three heritage squares of Nepal namely Kathmandu Durbar Square, Bhakatpur Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square. Once the erecting is done, people throw red vermillion powder in the air as the symbol to mark the beginning of  Holi, a time for fun and frolic. It is said to symbolize the tree on which lord Krishna hung the milkmaids’ garments while they were bathing. At the end of the festivities the Chir is taken to a bonfire.

Here are some of the legends behind Holi (source: internet)

There is a popular legend behind the installation of Chir. The story is again about the mischievous nature of Lord Krishna who loved to play pranks with the milkmaids or gopis. Playful as he was, it is said that once he seduced all the local girls with his dashing good looks. He then danced with them all and when they were fully engrossed in him, then he thought they were ripe for a tease. He doused them in coloured water and stole all their clothes while they were bathing in the water of river Yamuna. Naughty Krishna then hung their clothes on a tree to bug them. Chir symbolizes that very tree.

Holika gets burnt in the fire

Another myth following Holi, reveals that a fiend named Holika together with her brother, an atheist king by the name of Hiranyakasyapu conspired to kill his son Pralhad because Pralhad was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. But their attempts always failed for Lord Vishnu protects those who love him. Finally, Holika who having received a blessing from Lord Bramha to be immune to fire, jumped in a bonfire with Pralhadin her lap. But Brahma’s blessing could only be used for

Colours for Holi

good purposes and so Holika was consumed by the fire where as Pralhad was saved by the grace of the Gods. Thus, Holi is said to be celebrated to rejoice Holika’s extermination and the traditional bonfires are believed to commemorate her death.

Yet another legend says that there was an Ogress known as Putna. Lord Krishna’s devil uncle Kansa seeked the help of Putna to kill infant Krishna by feeding him poisonous milk.Putna disguised herself as a simple and pious woman and treacherously fed baby Krishna with her poisoned breast. Lord Krishna, however, sucked her blood which revealed the monster behind that pious woman and laid her to death.

On the night before Holi, there is a practice to burn an effigy of Putna – the Ogress who nearly killed Lord Krishna. The tradition is symbolic of victory of divinity over demonic forces. It also shows the end of winter and darkness – as typified by Putna.

I used to love Holi while growing up. It used to be a few days off from school and we loved playing will lola (water filled balloons) and abeer (colours). It was time of fun and frolic. People spent the day smearing coloured powder all over each other’s faces, throwing coloured water at each other, having parties, and dancing.

Lola

The only drawback of Holi in Kathmandu is for young girls and women who get lola thrown at them everywhere they go. I remember being bombarded by hundreds of balloons from someone’s roof top on the way to school or on the way back. It was days before the real Holi and it used to piss me off. Can you imagine, you are going somewhere and you are drenched with water from these balloons? Also as you know clean water is not available easily in Nepal so I am not even sure, what kind of water they used. I used to fight with these people who spoiled the real meaning of Holi.

If you are in Nepal, hope you are having a great time.

Sydney is celebrating Holi at the end of the month so hoping to go and have some fun then.

Happy Holi everyone !!!

Happy Holi

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Losar

Posted on February 22, 2012 | 3 comments

Nepal is describe as ‘Char jat ra chhatis barna ko yo sundar desh’ which translate into Nepali is a beautiful, multilingual and multi-cultural country. If you have met many people from Nepal, you might have noticed how different they look from each other. Please click here for my post ‘Different Look of Nepali people’ for details. Also in Nepal, there are lots of celebrations for different cultural group and ethnic group.

Today is Losar, a festival in Nepal which is celebrated by Mongolian Nepali, mainly by Gurung community as well as Rai, Tamang, Sherpas to welcome their New Year. Losar is celebrated on the first full moon of the first month according to a lunar calendar. On the solar calendar it falls between January and March. Lho means year or age and Sar means new or fresh. The word Lhosar means New Year or beginning of new era.

It is a National Holiday in Nepal so people can celebrate the festival.

Losar is the time when family member gathers and celebrate with cultural processions and feasting. Also on this day, older people give money and blessing to younger ones. I remember when I was young; I used to go to my friend’s place to celebrate Losar as my family doesn’t celebrate Losar (I am from Newar culture so we have our New Year during Tihar. Click here for more info). In her house, I used to get some money as well as lots of delicacies among which I liked sel roti (special Nepali bread) and achar the most.

One of the highlights of this day is that the people who celebrate Losar dress in their traditional outfit and go around Buddist temples. Men wear Bhangra, a white cloth shirt-like apparel tied across the chest and open like a bag at the back (for carrying things), and a Kachhad, like a short sarong or kilt while women wear maroon velvet Ghalek (blouses), enhanced by large gold earrings and semi-precious stone necklaces. Even kids are dressed up in traditional outfits.

To mark the day, all the Buddhist monasteries in the country are decorated with colourful prayer flags and the monks offer prayers for good health and prosperity, If you are in Nepal, the places to visit will be Bouddha and Swayambhu stupas where there will be crowds of people gathered to welcome the New Year.

In Sydney, there is a gathering this weekend to celebrate Losar. There will be many people dressed in traditional dress and there will be entertainment like cultural dance and singing. The best of all, there will be lots of Nepali food including Sel roti and momos

Happy Losar everyone!!!

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