Public holidays in Nepal: Difference between revisions
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| February 27 || [[Maha Shivaratri]] || Religious || Celebrated in reverence of Lord Shiva. |
| February 27 || [[Maha Shivaratri]] || Religious || Celebrated in reverence of Lord Shiva. |
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|October 27-30 || [[Chhath]] || Religious || Nepali |
|October 27-30 || [[Chhath]] || Religious || [[Nepali Maithils]], [[Pahari people|Pahari]] and [[Madhesi]] |
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| March 8 || International Women's Day || Non-Religious || International Women's day is celebrated on this day in Nepal. |
| March 8 || International Women's Day || Non-Religious || International Women's day is celebrated on this day in Nepal. |
Revision as of 04:12, 26 October 2014
Only one day of the week i.e. Saturday is celebrated as a holiday in Nepal. Public offices as well as other private businesses are open six days a week. However, Nepal has a lot of religious as well as non-religious events that are marked down in calendars as holidays. In such days except a few, most government offices are closed. Private institutions are also closed down on such holidays but it is not mandatory for them. Some privately owned businesses even operate on such events.
Some of those festive events celebrated in Nepal are region, religion or gender specific. For example a certain holiday in Nepal can only be for women. International organizations in Nepal are also free to have their own rules regarding holidays. They normally close down during Saturdays and Sundays as weekends while operating five days a week.
The longest consecutive public holiday in Nepal is during Vijaya Dashami. On this festival, holidays fall consecutively i.e. from Fulpati to Duwadashi for six days. Two other days which are a part of this festival: Ghatasthapana and Kojagrat Purnima are holidays but do not come serially with the six day holidays. It is also to be noted that these festival holidays do not fall on the exact calendar date every year. They are celebrated on the basis of Lunar days also known as tithi, so they might fall on different days and even month every year. Holidays such as Loktantra Diwas(Democracy Day) and Republic day are celebrated on the basis of Bikram Sambat calendar dates.
Holidays in Nepal
The following is the list of holidays for the calendar year 2014 in Nepal.[1]
Date | Holiday Name | Holiday Type | Brief Information |
---|---|---|---|
January 15 | Maghe Sankranti | Religious | The first day of the month of Magh. |
January 30 | Shahid Diwas | Non-Religious | Martyr's day in Nepal remembering the first four Martys of Nepal. |
January 31 | Sonam Losar | Religious | One out of the four Losars celebrated specially by the Tamang community. |
February 4 | Saraswati Puja | Religious | Schools celebrate this day by worshiping Goddess Saraswati, Hindu Goddess of knowledge, music, arts and nature. |
February 19 | Prajatantra Diwas | Non-Religious | Democracy day of Nepal. |
February 27 | Maha Shivaratri | Religious | Celebrated in reverence of Lord Shiva. |
October 27-30 | Chhath | Religious | Nepali Maithils, Pahari and Madhesi |
March 8 | International Women's Day | Non-Religious | International Women's day is celebrated on this day in Nepal. |
March 16 | Fagu Purnima | Religious | Also known as holi, the festival of colors. In Terai region of Nepal, this festival is celebrated on the next day. |
March 30 | Ghode Jatra | Religious | Observed primarily in Kathmandu valley with horse parades in Tundikhel. |
April 8 | Ram Nawami | Religious | Birthday of Lord Rama. |
April 14 | Navabarsha | Non-Religious | Nepalese New Year or the first day of Bikram Sambat calendar. |
April 24 | Loktantra Diwas | Non-Religious | Democracy day of Nepal. |
May 1 | Majdur Diwas | Non-religious | International labor day. |
May 14 | Buddha Jayanti | Religious | Birth date of Lord Gautam Buddha, born in Nepal. |
May 29 | Ganatantra Diwas | Non-Religious | Republic day in Nepal. |
August 10 | Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan | Religious | Sacred thread festival, Janai Purnima marks the renewal of the sacred thread by Brahmins. Raksha Bandhan celebrates the holi bond between brothers and sisters. |
August 11 | Gaijatra | Religious | Celebrated only in Kathmandu, this festival worships cows. Also a day when commemoration of the dead takes place. |
August 17 | Krishna Janmashtami | Religious | Celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna |
August 28 | Teej | Religious | Celebrated by mostly women for the wellness of their husband. |
August 30 | Rishi Panchami | Religious | Celebrated only by women by fasting to show gratitude to the ancient preachers. |
September 2 | Gaura Parwa | Religious | Celebrated mostly in far western Nepal, this festival is observed in other parts as well. |
September 8 | Indra Jatra | Religious | Celebrated only in Kathmandu, commemorates the founding of Kathmandu. |
September 25 | Ghatasthapana | Religious | The beginning of Dashain. |
October 1 | Fulpati | Religious | Seventh day of Dashain when jamara is brought from Gorkha palace to Kathmandu. |
October 2 | Maha Asthami | Religious | The day to appease Goddess Durga’s manifestations, the blood-thirsty Kali. |
October 3 | Maha Navami and Bijaya Dashami | Religious | This year Maha Navami and Bijaya Dashami falls on the same day. Maha Navami is the last day of Navaratri. On Bijaya Dashami mixture of rice, yogurt and vermilion is prepared and is known as Tika. Elders put Tika, Jamara and Kokha on the young ones and give them blessing. |
October 4 | Ekadashi | Religious | Eleventh day of Dashain where the celebration continues. |
October 5 | Duwadashi | Religious | The final consecutive holiday of Dashain celebration. |
October 7 | Kojagrat Purnima | Religious | Final full moon day after which Dashain officially ends. |
October 23 | Laxmi Puja | Religious | In the morning cows are worshipped. Later, usually during the evenings, Laxmi, Goddess of wealth is worshipped. |
October 24 | Mha Puja and Govardhan Puja | Religious | People worship themselves, oxen and cowdung. |
October 25 | Bhaitika | Religious | Sisters worship their brothers. Gifts are exchanged between them. |
October 29 | Chhath Parwa | Religious | A festival dedicated to Hindu Sun God. |
November 6 | Guru Nanak Jayanti | Religious | Sikhs celebrate the birth of first Sikh. |
December 6 | Yomari punhi | Non-Religious | Celebrates the end of rice harvests. Special dish of rice flour filled with brown cane sugar is prepared. |
December 25 | Christmas | Religious | Commemoration of birth of Jesus Christ. |
December 30 | Tamu Lhosar | Religious | Losar celebrated mostly by the Gurung Community. |
References
- ^ http://www.nepali-unicode.com/blog/public-holidays-nepal-2014.html
- ^ Nepali Calendar with Public Holidays Nepali Calendar with Public Holidays