Thursday, May 28, 2009

The feastival of Nepall

Festivals in Nepal has always been a meaningful event where people enjoy themselves more through their direct involvement than just watching them. In Nepal, every festival has some purpose to serve, such as to bring rain or to have good harvest, to avert calamities and son on. IN fact, festivals are the best way to understand and appreciate the Nepalese way of life .The Nepalese year is full of festivals which are celebrated accordion to the lunar calendar. Some of the important festivals are listed below.
Dashain
Celebrated in October-November.Dashain festival is the major festival of the Nepalese. Entire country is in enthusiastic holiday mood at the time of the festival. Dsashain, the longest and most favorite festivals right after the monsoon is a time for shopping, eating and socializing with friends, and family. The Dashain celebration marks the victory of good over evil. Durga Bhawani is the emblem of the good. Durga conquered evils on this day. Huge amount of animal sacrifice take place during the festival in temples and in home to please the Goddess, Durga. The final day of the festival is known as ‘Tika’, a day on which then elder ones give ‘Tika’ to the younger ones and to other relatives who come for blessings.

Tihar
Tihar, the festival of lights is one of the most dazzling of all Hindu festivals. In this festival we worship Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth. During the festival all the houses in the city and villages are decorated with lit oil lamps. Thus during the night the entire village or city looks like a sparkling diamond. This festival is celebrated in five days starting from the thirteenth day of the waning moon in October. We also refer to tihar as 'Panchak Yama' which literally means 'the five days of the underworld lord'. We also worship 'yamaraj' in different forms in these five days. In other words this festival is meant for life and prosperity.
Goddess Laxmi is the wife of almighty Lord Vishnu. She was formed from the ocean and she has all the wealth of the seas. She sits on a full-grown lotus and her steed is the owl. On the third day of the festival at the stroke of midnight she makes a world tour on her owl looking how she is worshipped.
Teej
'Teej' is the fasting festival for women. It takes place in August or early September. The festival is a three-day long celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting. Through this religious fasting, hindu women pray for marital bliss, well being of their spouse and children and purification of their own body and soul.

Traditionally, the ritual of Teej is obligatory for all Hindu married women and girls who have reached puberty. Exception is made for the ones who are ill or physically unfit. In such circumstances a priest performs the rites. According to the holy books, the Goddess Parbati fasted and prayed fervently for the great Lord Shiva to become her spouse. Touched by her devotion, he took her for his wife. Goddess Parbati, in gratitude sent her emissary to preach and disseminate this religious fasting among mortal women, promising prosperity and longevity with their family. Thus was born the festival of Teej.
Loshar
This is the New Year of the Tibetans and Sherpas of Nepal which falls in February. The Buddhist monasteries in Kathmandu like Boudhanath and Swayambhunath are decorated with eye catching colorful prayer flags pulling the crowd. The people perform their traditional dances and welcome their New Year with feasts and family gatherings wearing all the new clothes and finest jewelries and exchanging gifts.
Festive activities like singing, dancing and feasting are observed.A colorful crowd gathers in the area around the stupa. Hundreds of Tibetans are dressed in a wide variety of beautiful traditional costumes sometimes mixed with western clothes. They smile, laugh and greet family and friends as they bump into them in the crowd. The atmosphere is saturated with anticipation. A group of monks led by a high rank teacher appear and pass through the lion-framed gate into the inner area of the stupa.
These are just like examples if you want to know about it then you have to visit in Nepal.