With at least ten long weekends, 2021 brings some good news for people who like to travel and celebrate a lot.

Though Nepal is a small Himalayan nation, it is rich in cultural diversities of around 125 ethnic, tribal, and social groups. The Nepali Government has acknowledged a number of holidays every month to accommodate all the major festivals, traditions, and cultures.

Here, we have enlisted all the public holidays and observances in Nepal in 2021 that includes national holidays, bank holidays, government holidays, and religious holidays.

List of Nepal Public Holidays 2021

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Popularly known as Deepawali and Yamapanchak, Tihar usually falls in the month of October or November every year. This year, Tihar falls on November 14, 2020. However, the festival celebration starts on November 13, 2020, and ends on November 16, 2020.

During this festival, Nepalis worship the God of Death Yama and animals such as crows, cows, and dogs that have long-lived alongside humans. People also worship the Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi.

Also Read | Top 5 Famous Nepali Temples in the US

According to the Nepali tradition, the festival begins with Kaag Tihar on Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna Paksha and ends with Bhai Tika on Dwitiya of Kartik Sukla Paksha.

Day 1: Kaag Tihar (The Day of Crows)

The first day of the Tihar Festival is Kaag Tihar. On this day, people worship crows, which are considered as messengers to Lord Yama. Nepalis believe that by worshipping crows, there will be no news of sorrow to the family.

On this day, people offer different food items to crows early in the morning and pray for luck.

Day 2: Kukur Tihar (The Day of Dogs)

The second day of the festival is known as Kukur (dog) Tihar. On this day, Nepali Hindus worship dogs, which are considered as the guard of Lord Yama. They believe that dogs lead souls to heaven. People worship dogs by offering tika, garland, and delicious foods.

Day 3: Gai Tihar (The Day of Cows)

The third day, Gai Tihar, marks the worshiping of holy cows, which are considered a form of Goddess Lakshmi. On this day, people offer special prayers to cows, with tika, garland, and special food items.

Day 4: Goru Puja (The Day of Oxen)

The fourth day of the Tihar festival is known as Goru Puja. On this day, Nepali Hindus worship oxen and perform three different pujas, including Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja.

Day 5: Bhai Tika (The Day of Brothers)

This is the fifth and the last day of the Tihar festival. On this day, sisters put ‘Paanch Rangi Tika’ on their brothers’ foreheads, wishing them a long life and prosperity. The Tika is a combination of five different colors, including yellow, green, red, blue, and white.

Sisters also offer dry fruits such as hazelnut, walnuts, sweets, and fruits to their brothers, wishing them good luck. While brothers give them gifts in return, assuring them protection for the rest of their life.

During this five-day-long festival, people illuminate their homes with bright lights, diyas, and candles and keep their doors open to welcome prosperity. People also light fireworks, filling the sky with colorful lights.

However, the 2020 Tihar Festivals celebrations seem to be quite different from the previous years due to the risk of the coronavirus pandemic. The Nepali Government has instructed people to avoid public gatherings and fireworks to prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection.

NepaliSansar Wishes All Nepalis A Very Happy and Prosperous Tihar!

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The Nepal Calendar Determination Committee Chairperson Prof. Dr Ram Chandra said that ‘11:55 AM’ is the auspicious time for putting and receiving ‘tika’.

However, it can be observed until sunset on this day, he added.

Bhai Tika Tradition
On the occasion of Bhai tika, sisters make their brothers sit in a special place bordered with mustard oil. They then adorn their brothers’ foreheads with colorful tika and put them garlands made of Dubo (a grass variant) and Makhlami flower (globe amarnath).

Following this ritual, sisters offer the traditional Bhai tika treats including sweets, walnuts, spices and sel roti, a traditional Nepali food made from rice flour.

Brothers also put tika their sisters and wish them happiness & good luck. After this, they give them presents.

Folklore Behind Bhai Tika
According to the legend, a sister wins a boon from ‘Yama’, the God of Death, wherein her brother would not die until the mustard oil dried up and the garland of Dubo and Makhlami shriveled.

Sisters put these garlands on brothers to ensure their long life just like the long life span of the elements in the garland. They are also signify the unending bond of a brother and sister.

Nepal observed Goru, Govardhan and Mha pooja on November 08, 2018 which is highly significant to Newari community.

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Also known by the names Deepawali and Yamapanchak, Tihar is the second biggest Nepalese festival after Dashain and usually falls in the month of October or November every year.

Yamapanchak, meaning the five days of Yama, honors Yama Raj, the God of Death.

Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and luck is also widely worshiped during this period.

The festivals brings together the key aspects of nature- people, animals and colors. As part of the festive rituals, cows, crows, dogs and ox are worshiped across the country symbolizing the manifestation of various gods.

Day 1: Kag Tihar, The Day of Crows

Tihar festival begins with the worshiping of crow, which is considered as the messenger of death in Hindu tradition. Crows are considered to be the messengers of death and the belief is that by pleasing them, they would not bring any news of sorrow to the family.

On the day, Nepali Hindus offer different food items to crows early in the morning and pray for luck, as they believe crows bring in messages to houses at the start of the dawn.

Day 2: Kukur Tihar, The Day of Dogs

The second day of the festival is dedicated to dogs and is celebrated as Kukur (dog) Tihar.

On the Kukur Tihar day, the entire Nepali Hindu community worships dogs owing to their religious significance as the guard of Lord Yama, the god of death. It is also believed that dogs can lead the souls of the dead to heaven.

Dogs are offered special prayers with tika, garland and delicious foods.

Day 3: Gai Tihar, The Day of Cows

The third day of Tihar is called Gai Tihar and marks the worshiping of holy cows, which hold great significance in the Hindu tradition. On the day, cows and goddess Lakshmi are worshiped with great fervor as cows are considered to be a form of goddess Lakshmi.

People illuminate their homes with bright lights, candles & oil lamps and keep their doors and windows open to welcome prosperity. Additionally, people play cards and light fireworks.

Day 4: Goru Puja, The Day of Oxen

The fourth day of Tihar witnesses the worshiping of oxen and is celebrated as Goru Puja. Apart from Goru Puja, this auspicious day also marks three different pujas including Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja.

On this auspicious day, Vaishnavism followers perform the Govardhan Puja, where believers worship a Govardhan Parvat made of cow dung.

After worshiping animals for three days, the fourth day justifies the concept of worshiping the soul, which is common in all beings. The Newari community performs the Mha Puja and worship their own souls.

Day 5: Bhai Tika or Bhai Duj, the Day of Colors

This is the fifth and the concluding day of the 5-day long Tihar festival.

On this day, sisters adorn the foreheads of their brothers with Paanch Rangi Tika, a combination of five different colors including yellow, green, red, blue and white, wishing them a long life and prosperity.

While sisters offer Shaguns (wishing good luck) of dry fruits such as hazelnut (Katus), walnuts, sweets and fruits, brothers in return give them gifts and money along with blessings of protection assurance for the rest of their life.

Visitors to Nepal during this time can enjoy the grand Tihar festival in Kathmandu with colorful night lighting and many cultural and religious celebrations. Rani Pokhari temple, which is open to the public only on the fifth day of Tihar each year, is another attraction. The five days of the Tihar festival provide a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the Nepalese hospitality and leave with memories that last a lifetime.

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Tihar is the second most important festival of the Nepal’s biggest festival season, after Dashain.

With the festival fast approaching, the government officials have already begun strict market monitoring activity to see that there is no malpractice in case of food items sold in the market.

The Department of Supplies Management (DoSM) and the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) have already begun making special inspections in the market.

These departments have been sending across market monitoring teams to check adulteration in the Kathmandu Valley and across other parts of the country.

“We have focused mainly on shops selling ghee, sweets, cooking oil, apparels and footwear,” says DoSM Director General Kumar Prasad Dahal.

As part of their inspection rounds, the officials have so far destroyed a large quantity of food items and sweets that were found with expiry date.

Rise in Demand for Earthenware

On account of Tihar and Chhath festivals, the sales demand for earthenware products such as diyos (butter lamps) and jars made of clay and ceramic is on rise in the villages of Mahottari District.

The demand for these products has resulted in creation of a specific market that sells only these clay and ceramic products.

“More than 20 new such shops have sprouted in the major junction and local market of Bardibas,” says Bhawanath Khatiwada, General Secretary of Bardibas Trade Association.

This appears as a good opportunity for the communities that hold expertise in making such natural products.

The sale and purchase of earthenware in Mahottari bazaar, during the Tihar and Chhath festivals alone, makes up business worth Rs 2.5 million, says the Mahottari Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Special Boost to Flower Market

Owing to the rise in demand for flowers such as marigold, globe amaranth and chrysanthemum during Tihar, the flower market usually demands on imports to meet the domestic demand.

However, it’s not the case for this Tihar.

 “Last year, we had met around 40 percent of demand for marigold during Tihar festival through imports. This year, import of marigold is expected to come down to almost 20 percent of the demand,” says Dilip Bade, senior vice president of Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN).

Bade was confident about sufficient supply of such flowers during the festival. “We have already achieved self-sufficiency in chrysanthemum and globe amaranth,” he added.

Price of Dry Fruits to Remain Stable

The demand for dry fruits is usually at peaks during Tihar festival, as the Nepali Hindu women offer these delicious items to their brothers during the Bhai Tika festival.

Owing to the demand and to finish off the existing stock, not even an artificial price hike is expected in the market in terms of dry fruits sales.

“If dry fruits remain unsold, they will remain in stock of traders for a year. That is why I don’t think there will be artificial price hike. Customers will not have to pay more for dry fruits for the Bhai Tika festival,” says Devendra Bhakta Shrestha, Secretary, Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).

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