The celebrations are planned on a grand scale beginning with the traditional #bullfight, as every year. Marking the festival day, the country is going to see exciting bullfighting events across different areas.

The bullfighting event will be seen in Nuwakot and Dhading districts, adjoining the Kathmandu valley, as the major highlight of the #MagheSankranti2020 celebrations in Nepal.

Hundreds of public are going to be seen in Taruka village of Nuwakot district to watch the joyful event.

The local sport has its origin in Taruka village and has been played since some 200 years ago in the 19^th century.

Bullfight in Nepal is different from those in other parts of the world! #NepaliBullFight event includes both bulls and oxen, where they will be fighting continuously for nearly an hour period.

Ethnic appearances by the women of Tharu and Magar communities are going to be other highlights of the day.

‘Maghe Sankranti’ – The Auspicious Day

Maghe Sankranti, which falls on the first day of the Nepali month of Magh as per the lunar calendar, marks the transition of Sun into the Hindu zodiac sign called Makara (Capricorn), putting an end to winter and welcoming the other seasons of the year followed by summer.

As per the tradition, Nepali Hindus visit various holy shrines and rivers to observe traditional pujas and Makar Snan (holy river bath) at the confluence of major rivers on this auspicious day.

While the confluence of the holy Kali Gandaki and Trishuli rivers in Devghat hold great significance, devotees also take holy dips at various other rivers such as Dolalghat, Devghat, Ridi, Triveni and Baraha Kshetra, among others across the country.

A large number of people from Sunsari, Ilam, Morang, Saptari, Siraha, and Jhapa districts and a good number of people from various places of India gathered at Kankai River for Makar Snan, the tradition that is observed every year.

Culture and Tradition for Wellbeing

Marking the celebration as the start of New Year, Nepal’s Tharu community people will visit the Kathmandu Valley’s open ground Tundikhel (to commemorate Maghe Sankranti, the community’s biggest festival).

Meanwhile, the Newar Community also celebrates the festival as Ghyo Chaku Sanlhu with delicious dishes like ghee, chaku and remembering their beloved and departed souls.

As per the tradition, the elders apply a little amount of oil to the younger ones who then proceed for holy dip in sacred rivers. It is believed that sharing and eating ghee and chaku, vegetables and yam and sesame seed candy on the festival day adds to a healthy life.

Another special delicious item, a mixture of black gram and rice with hot spices and ghee, called Khichadi is also served on this auspicious festival day. On the occasion, national leaders President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli extended their best wishes to the global Nepali community.

Grand Celebrations

In 2019, a three-day-long fair was held in Gulmi at the pilgrimage site of Ridi of Ruru area at a place, a
tri-junction of Gulmi, Syangja and Palpa districts.

Meanwhile, another big religious fair was also celebrated in Devghat of Chitwan district with thousands of participants gathering at Devghat Dham for taking holy dip and observing the festival rituals.

Tharu community people also gathered at Tundikhel on a larger scale to mark the festival celebrations. Dressed in cultural attire, the community performed various cultural and religious dance shows at the event.

A Special Attraction

The traditional bullfight is one most famous animal sports event played as part of the Maghe Sankranti celebrations across Nepal and India. Commemorating the start of Magh and holy Sankranti festival, traditional bullfight sports event will be held across Nepal on January 15, 2020.

While Magh is also celebrated as the feast of molasses, Nepal’s mountainous district Nuwakot looks at it in a different way.

Marking the start of the Magh, the country observes the annual bullfighting event, a traditional animal sport that dates back to more than 225 years.

“This is the tradition which we (farmers) have continued for years. We have been herding the bulls and the government has been giving allowance to buy the tractors. However, we are not getting any sort of help or aid despite preserving the tradition for long,” says Bhoj Bahadur Bhandari, a participant of this traditional bull sport.

This annual bull-taming festival in Nepal is similar to that of the most-famous Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu of India and the Spanish Bullfight.

Apart from being a tradition, this unique bullfighting event is also adding to the promotion of Nepal tourism.

NepaliSansar team wishes all “Very Happy Maghe Sankranti”.

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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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As the world started watching, Nepali Hindus of all ages took on to roads to celebrate the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra festival on July 13, 2018.

Globally-renowned Hindu organization International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) organized the chariot procession in Nepal’s capital.

As the 35^th series of the festival in Nepal, #JagannathYatra2018 in Nepal saw thousands of devotees participating in celebrations in Kathmandu as part of the chariot procession from Lainchaur area of Kathmandu covering the inner orbit of the capital city.

The country saw devotees of all ages, specially youth, dancing and singing devotional songs with a wide variety of musical instruments in praise of the main deities: Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan.

#JagannathRathYatra originates from Puri, a religious shrine in the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, where the festival is celebrated on a grand scale amidst thousands of pilgrims from all over the world watching the chariot procession. The custom of #chariotprocession dates back to the pre 11^th century.

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The festival dedicated to the Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, falls on the fifth day (Panchami) of the bright half of the month of Magh as per the Nepali Hindu Calendar.

This festival marks the beginning of the spring season every year and is celebrated by the Hindu community across the globe.

People belonging to the Sikh and Hindu communities in Nepal and Eastern India observe this holy festival that is mostly important for students and learners.

On this special day, devotees take early bath and offer prayers to the Goddess for knowledge and  listen to Basant Shrawran.

Some devotees also perform a special ritual on this special day wherein they make kids start writing their first-ever words as part of the ages-old tradition.

The festival is also considered as an auspicious day for starting a new venture and taking new decisions.

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