treasures of nepal

Festivals andCelebrationsNepalese celebrate festivals withgreat enthusiasm and élan. It issaid that hardly a day passes inNepal without a festival beingcelebrated somewhere.Dashain Festival swingThe official calendar adopted by the Nepalese is theBikram Sambat (B.S.). The Bikram Sambat New Yearbegins with the month of Baisakh (mid-April). Forall religious festivals and auspicious personal eventsand rituals, Nepalese make use of the lunar calendar.Religion plays a very vital role in all festivals in Nepal,whether Hindu or Buddhist. One can see a blend ofthese two religions in most of the Nepalese festivals.Nepalese celebrate festivals with great enthusiasmand élan. It is said that hardly a day passes in Nepalwithout a festival being celebrated somewhere.Certain festivals are celebrated nationwide, whileothers are of a local nature, observed within a certainregion or community. Based on this, Nepalese festivalscan be broadly classified into three categories: thosethat are celebrated nationwide, regionally or locally,and by the community. Major festivals like BadaDasain, or Durga Puja, Tihar, or Laxmi Puja, BuddhaJayanti, or the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, ShivaRatri, or the birthday of Lord Shiva, Janai Purnima,Ram Navami and Krishna Janmasthami are celebratedthroughout the country.Some prominent festivals that are celebrated withgreat fanfare are the Indra Jatra of Kathmandu,31