Nepali New Year – Traditional Event in Nepal

The Nepali New Year is celebrated by the locals and is also known as Navavarsha which is based on Nepal’s lunar calendar – Nepal Sambat. The first day of such an event usually falls around the 11th to the 15th of April. The Navavarsha is one of the many Nepali festivities celebrated with parades, parties, family gatherings and a lot of food. If you are going to enjoy Nepal tours during the time this event happening, there would be something you need to know about the New Year in Nepal.

New Year in Nepal 2020 & 2021

History of Nepali New Year

The Nepali custom organizes their religious merriments on a varying date because it is based on the lunar calendar as opposed to their national holidays, which are observed on fixed dates. The Nepali New Year, according to the locals, is a religious holiday celebrated with great significance as well as is observed with deep respect and devotion. Just like many other countries in Asia, they commemorate the event with the hopes of having a lot of blessings along with prosperity as they face the New Year.

The Nepali Era that is based on the use of the Nepali Calendar, began in A.D 879. The dates of this era can be found on old Nepali coins, stone & copper inscriptions, and official writings. Due to the deeply ingrained traditions of over Nepal’s 60 ethnic groups, there are actually 9 different New Years’ Days in total celebrated in Nepal; however, Nepal Sambat is considered the “National New Year,” bringing some semblance of unity in the midst of great linguistic, cultural, and historical diversity.

Traditions and Customs in Nepali New Year

The Nepali New Year’s celebration comes with jovial activities consisting of street dances, parades, and reunions. The occasion has always been enthusiastically participated and fully funded by individuals and organizations. The Nepali New Year usually falls during the 2nd week of April that is considered by the Nepalese as the first day of Baisakh, the first month of the Bikram Sambat calendar. It’s a time where entire Nepal rejoices with colorful ornaments & social activities as they welcome the New Year.

The major part of the event is central to their religion. According to their rituals, the Nepali spend their time early in the morning with prayers as well as worships inside their temples. They also offer Puja that is a ritual devoted to their gods. After presenting the Puja, they walk around the temple opposing the direction of the clock as they ring bells.

Nepali New Year – What to Do

Stroll around Streets of Kathmandu

Take to the streets of Kathmandu or other major cities to see the processions. The Nepali wear traditional costumes, drums and cultural music plays as they march, and decorative arches, as well as banners, are seen over the streets and markets. Also, make sure to attend the official New Year’s greeting of the Nepali President or to watch it on TV.

Enjoy Nepali New Year’s Celebration

Attend the most famous of all Nepali New Year’s celebrations, the one in Bhaktapur, which is outside Kathmandu but still in the Kathmandu valley. You will see a gigantic chariot bearing the “god Bhairab” being pulled through town by dozens of villagers. They then engage in a festive tug of war, wherein the “east side” and “west side” residents compete. You can also attend similar demonstrations in Timi or Bode. In Timi, you will see a parade of various Hindu gods and participants who cover themselves in red powder they fling into the air. In Bode, the celebrations get somewhat more “intense,” as a single villager takes center stage by ceremonially piercing his tongue with an iron spike.

Get into Outdoor Activities

Since the Nepal Sambat was designed to make spring the beginning of the year, you still can get an opportunity to enjoy outdoors to indulge in the fresh, spring weather. You may wish to get adventurous and hike or bicycle the “Annapurna Circuit,” a trek in the Annapurna Mountains of central Nepal. Or, you may wish to visit beautiful Phewa Lake, where you will see the surrounding mountains reflected on the lake’s surface and where you can visit Taal Barahi Temple which is located on an island in the middle of the lake.

Calendar of Previous Nepali New Year