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Dashain Festival: A Grand Hindu Cultural Celebration

Happy Dashain to all! Dashain is the biggest Hindu festival that Nepal observes every year. It is a wonderful cultural celebration that allows people time to reunite and refresh. Dashain festival is a long celebration of fifteen days where different cultural rituals take place every day.

The Nepalese society, especially the Hindu community, gives huge importance to the festival. People from all walks of life are busy and excited to make the Dashain festival a grand celebration. Right from day one to day fifteen, there are different rituals performed. This festival is the most exciting time of the year for most of the Nepalese. The entire atmosphere of life in Nepal goes slow and in celebration mode.

Ghatasthapana – the first day of the Dashain festival

The first day of the festival is Ghatasthapana which is a public holiday. This day marks the beginning of the fifteen-day festival. Temples of Hindu goddesses around the country observe special worshipping rituals. Likewise, every household also prepares for the festival with the plantation of Jamara at their home. Jamara is the mixed seedlings of rice, wheat, and maize that grow yellow in a dark room.

Ghatasthapana is a grand celebration and preparation day of the festival. After the day, other days observe worshipping in temples and at homes.

Vijaya Dashami – The tenth day of the festival

Vijaya Dashami or Teeka is the most important and the main day of the festival. For the first nine days of the festival, people worship in the temples of goddesses and on the tenth day, the main celebration takes place. Older people offer Teeka and blessings with Jamara to the younger ones. This is the day when the older ones shower their blessings upon the younger ones with the red Teeka (a mixture of yogurt, rice, and red color powder) and Jamara.

From the tenth day to the fifteenth day of the festival, people go to their relatives to receive Teeka and blessings. They celebrate the festival with delicious foods, families, relatives, and Teeka.

Gathering, Swing, Cards, and Fun

In addition to the cultural celebration, Teeka, and blessings, the Dashain festival is also about gathering and fun. As the festival has a long holiday in most of the workplaces, people have more time to be with their family and friends. They fully utilize the occasion to celebrate and have fun with their family, relatives, and friends.

People enjoy the bamboo swing that’s built everywhere around the country for the festival. They also play cards to have fun with their family and friends. On the whole, the festival is also a great occasion to have fun; reunite and celebrate with the near and dear ones.

Religious Importance of the Festival

Dashain festival is purely a religious celebration. The festival is observed to celebrate the victory of good over the evils. As the religious story goes, there was a battle between the goddess and the devil for ten days and the goddess got victory over the devil on the tenth day.

The first nine days of the festival are the Navaratri when the temples of goddesses around the country get animal sacrifice. The sacrifice stops on the ninth day. Sacrificing the animals is symbolic of the battle between the goddess and the devil. As the goddess comes victorious over the devil on the tenth day, the day is observed with great joy and happiness. The celebration of victory goes until the fifteenth day.

Although the festival has rich cultural importance, it also has great religious importance. The Hindus in Nepal consider this festival as the most important religious occasion. Dashain festival is not only a celebration but also an occasion to bring people together. The Nepalese people living and working in different parts of the world and in the country return to their home in Dashain to be with their family.

Dashain festival is also an occasion when you can also enjoy the cultural immersion as a traveler. It’s certainly a great chance to see and experience the Nepalese life and culture from close.

Happy Dashain to all again!!

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Beautiful Festival Treks in Nepal

Nepal is in the festival mode at the moment. The biggest Hindu festival in the country is happening in Nepal. Nepal celebrates several cultural and religious festivals throughout the year. Some of those festivals are celebrated in the mountains where you can also enjoy trekking adventure. You can enjoy the beautiful festival treks in Nepal if you plan the adventure accordingly.

Festival treks in Nepal will offer you a chance to observe the cultural celebration in addition to enjoying the trekking adventure. With the diversity in ethnicity and cultural beliefs, people celebrate different kinds of festivals in different regions in the mountains. These festivals fall at a certain time of the year. Going on one of the festival treks in Nepal is a wonderful way to understand the Nepalese culture while enjoying walking in the mountains.

There are certain times of the year when beautiful festivals occur in different trekking regions. From Everest to Upper Mustang, you can enjoy trekking adventure during the festival times. Let’s find out more about these beautiful festival treks in Nepal.

Mani Rimdu Festival in Everest

If you are planning to trek in Everest and also want to enjoy a cultural celebration, plan a trek during Mani Rimdu festival. This Buddhist Festival Celebration marks and celebrates cultural rituals for 19 days in the Everest region. The monasteries in Tengboche, Thame, and Chiwong observe various cultural rituals including masked dances and other performances.

The festival falls between October and November every year following the Tibetan Lunar Calendar. If you plan Everest Base Camp Trek or any other trekking adventures in the region, you can also enjoy the festival happenings. Everest region gets happening with a cultural celebration during the festival and you can also enjoy the cultural magnificence.

Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang

Another of the festival treks in Nepal is Tiji Festival Trek to Upper Mustang. This is another Buddhist cultural festival celebrated in Lo Manthang for three days. The festival marks the memory of Lord Buddha’s incarnation to save human beings from a demon.

Several cultural rituals are observed during the three-day festival. The monks at Choedhe monastery in Lo Manthang organize and perform various rituals. They perform dramatic story-telling of the Buddha’s incarnation and the battle with the demon to save human beings. The masked dance is one of the highlights of the celebration.

Trekking to Upper Mustang during the festival certainly gives you wonderful chance to witness and experience the festival.

Janai Purnima in Gosainkunda

Trekking to Gosainkunda in Langtang during Janai Purnima festival is another great cultural festival trekking in Nepal. This festival trek offers you an experience of Hindu and Shamanic belief and tradition. Although the festival is celebrated widely throughout the country by the Hindus, Gosainkunda sees a huge number of people for pilgrimage. Local residents of the area, as well as pilgrims from other parts of the country, also travel to Gosainkunda during the festival.

You will also see a number of shamans practicing their rituals during this full moon festival in the month of July. Although it is quite challenging to trek there in the heavy monsoon season, the experience is incredibly overwhelming.

 

The above-mentioned trekking adventures see the beautiful festival celebration in the mountains during the time. However, you can also travel to Nepal for trekking or cultural tour during the time of other interesting festivals. You can travel to Nepal to enjoy the color fun of the Holi festival in March or to observe the magnificence of the Dashain and Tihar festival in October.

The Nepali calendar has a number of festivals throughout the year and you can plan your travel to observe one of those festival times. Let us know if you want to go on a trekking adventure or on a cultural tour during the festival. We will create a perfect itinerary to suit your requirement.

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