Dashain is the longest and the most important festival of Nepal. Generally Dashain falls in late September to mid October, right after the monsoon season in Nepal. Dashain gets many different nick names as Dasara, Bada Dashain, Vijaya Dashain, Durga Puja, all of which mean the same thing: Dashain, a day of Victory over Demons. Bada Dashain is the greatest Hindu festival of Nepal. The festival continues for 15 days. It is also called Durga Pooja as the festival is celebrated to commemorate the slying of demon Mahisasur by goddess Durga. The first day of the festival is called Ghatasthapana when a sacred jar with holy water is installed in each Nepalese house and barley seeds are sowed in the sand.
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The seventh day is called Fulpati, when a bunch of ginger stalks, banana leaf, sugarcane and seasonal flowers is introduced in the Daishan Ghar. the eighth day of the festival is called Mahaastami and it is the day of great sacrifice. The 10th day of the festival, Vijaya Dashami, is the major day of the festival when people take Tika and Jamara from their elders and relatives. The festival ends on the day of Kojagrat Poornima.Holidays - Rest and Relaxation for nearly 10 days. This is the longest festival in Nepal. It allows one to travel and be with family and friends for up to a week or more.Shopping - New clothes for wife, children, dad, mum and all, except for yourself! In spite of extreme hardship, during the festival season Nepalese families manage to shop if not for all at least for the children. Clothes are by far the best selling item during this season. Those who could not afford to wear even a single new item of cloth the entire year will attempt to do just that at this time of year!Dashain Bonus - Nepali Government gives a bonus of usually one month pay to all its workers. Some private companies such as Banks do the same. Farmers earn their bonus by selling their highly demanded agriculture and live-stock products in return for a good cash.
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Eating - Meat, sweets, fruits and meat again. Dashain's most popular cuisine is meat. In order of popularity: goat, sheep, buffalo, duck and chicken. Meat is expensive and poor to middle class families usually can not afford it. So Dashain is the time of eating lots of meat. Usually animals are bought live from the animal market such as Kalanki Bazaar, Bag Bazaar and sacrificed at home or in temples. At home, the whole family is involved in cutting and preparing the meat which usually lasts for 2 to 3 day's. But some families prefer to buy the meat already prepared by the butcher. Visiting - Meet your family and friends near and far. Dashain is also about forgiveness, kindness and respect, all of which prevails so broken families come together. Cities suddenly seems to empty itself. More people return back to their villages or terai (lower, flat region of Nepal) than that cam to join their families in cities. During this season, city people rush to book tickets, bus or plane.Kites - Children love the season also for flying kites. If you visit Kathmandu or any other city during this season, the day-sky is filled with colorful kites like shinning stars in the nigh.Tika and Love - Receiving and giving tika and respect. Getting a tika from an older person in your family or from relatives or from anyone is a blessing. Dashain tika begins from the oldest person in your family giving tika to the youngest then the second oldest in the family and so on. Faith, hope, inspiration and blessings, all come alive in Dashain.
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Eating - Meat, sweets, fruits and meat again. Dashain's most popular cuisine is meat. In order of popularity: goat, sheep, buffalo, duck and chicken. Meat is expensive and poor to middle class families usually can not afford it. So Dashain is the time of eating lots of meat. Usually animals are bought live from the animal market such as Kalanki Bazaar, Bag Bazaar and sacrificed at home or in temples. At home, the whole family is involved in cutting and preparing the meat which usually lasts for 2 to 3 day's. But some families prefer to buy the meat already prepared by the butcher. Visiting - Meet your family and friends near and far. Dashain is also about forgiveness, kindness and respect, all of which prevails so broken families come together. Cities suddenly seems to empty itself. More people return back to their villages or terai (lower, flat region of Nepal) than that cam to join their families in cities. During this season, city people rush to book tickets, bus or plane.Kites - Children love the season also for flying kites. If you visit Kathmandu or any other city during this season, the day-sky is filled with colorful kites like shinning stars in the nigh.Tika and Love - Receiving and giving tika and respect. Getting a tika from an older person in your family or from relatives or from anyone is a blessing. Dashain tika begins from the oldest person in your family giving tika to the youngest then the second oldest in the family and so on. Faith, hope, inspiration and blessings, all come alive in Dashain.
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Money Notes - stacks of money notes to give. Receive a tika and offer money notes as an appreciation. Popular Dashain notes are Rupees 2, 5, 10, and Rupees 25. Everybody tries to exchange for smaller and new notes, so banks are usually busy during the season. Cleaning - Clean and decorate homes. Walls get a new coat of paints, roads are cleaned better than before, temples are decorated with lights, villagers join together to clean and build new trails and paint their homes using red-colored mud. People clean themselves mentally too by visiting various temples and worshiping during the festival. Puja - Worshiping God for peace and prosperity. Various pujas are performed from beginning to the end of Dashain. Gambling - although not legal in Nepal, but it's played. Playing cards is popular during Dashain. Usually family members play cards with each-other or with friends for money.
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