Culturally Nepal

Nepal is very rich and unique in culture. Its multi-dimensional culture includes the diversity of ethnic, tribal, and social groups. Music and dance, art and craft, languages, and literature are witnesses to Nepal's vibrant culture. The monumental evidence of Nepal's culture is found in its festivals and celebrations, which occur at different times according to the lunar calendar. Nepal is famous for its cultural heritage and rich ethnicity and is rightly renowned as Cultural Nepal.

Teej

The Teej festival welcomes the monsoon season and is celebrated by girls and women with songs, dancing, and prayer ceremonies. The festival is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and her consort, Lord Shiva. Teej is a generic name for several festivals celebrated in Nepal, Northern India, and Western India.

Indra Jatra

Indra Jatra is a grand religious street festival held in the cultural quarter of Kathmandu. It marks two significant events: the masked dances of deities and demons, and the display of sacred images and tableaux honoring Indra, the king of heaven. The festival also includes Kumari Jatra, the chariot procession of the living goddess Kumari.

Dashain

Dashain is Nepal’s largest and most important festival. Celebrated for 15 days, it is the longest and most auspicious festival in Nepal, typically falling in September or October. The first, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth days are the most significant. During Dashain, people worship Goddess Durga and her Shakti (power). It is a time when people return from all parts of the world and across the country to celebrate together. Government offices, educational institutions, and private offices remain closed during this period.

Tihar

Tihar falls in December and is the festival of flowers, lights, colors, brothers, and sisters. Brothers visit their sisters’ homes, where sisters put a tika on their brothers’ foreheads and garlands around their necks. The brothers then touch the feet of their sisters, and the sisters serve them a grand meal, including traditional sweets such as sel roti and other delicacies. Sisters receive gifts of money, clothes, ornaments, or other tokens from their brothers.

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