Festivals

Today, August 24, 2010, is a holiday in Nepal.  The date here, where the Bikram Sambat calendar is observed, is actually 2067 Bhadra 8.  (The year is usually written first.  The Bikram Sambat calendar is 56 years, 8 1/2 months ahead of the Gregorian Calendar.)

Yesterday, at school:  (more about the school in another post)

...the kids told me about the upcoming holiday.  Here is an approximation of the conversation:

Kids:  Kathy Ma'am (names are first and then the title), tomorrow is a holiday! 
Kathy Ma'am:  Oh!  How nice!  What holiday is it? 
Kids:  Janai Purnima! 
Kathy Ma'am:  How interesting!  What is that? 
Kids:  It's a festival. 
Kathy Ma'am:  What kind of festival? 
Kids:  A festival!!!! 
Kathy Ma'am:  But what is it exactly? 
Kids:  It's a festival!!!! 
Kathy Ma'am:  But what happens during this festival? 
Kids:  Oh, they're going to have the festival. 
Kathy Ma'am:  What kind of things will they do at the festival? 
Kids:  Just festival things!!!
Kathy Ma'am:  What are the festival things?
Kids:  The things you do at the festival!!!
(They shake their heads.  I just don't get it.)

So I looked it up on the internet.  The best way for you to find out what it is will be to read this article I found and copied and pasted from pilgrimbooks.wordpress.com:

 Janai Purnima – Raksha Bandhan
By pilgrimsbooks

Nepal is a country of varied religions and occasions. Janai Purnima, mostly know as Janai Purne and also known as Kwati Purne, Srawani Purnima, Rishi Purnima and Raksha Bandhan is one such festival which very magnanimous. This festival falls in the full moon of Bhadra (August).
On this day Bhraman and Chhetri communities in Nepal change their sacred thread called Janai or Yajnopavita; sanctified by the Bhraman Priests after taking a holy bath or dip in the river. And the other communities tie Janai or Doro or Tago on their wrists from the Bhraman Priests.
This festival is very much popular among the Hindus. People have belief that if some one ties Tago on this day by the Bhraman Priests; and offer them donations; they will earn virtue and blessings from the God for auspicious life. The sacred thread Janai and Tago is venerated as a feature of Lord Vishnu and it protects us from being and kind of spiritual sickness as well.
And on this day sisters tie Rakhi on the wrist of their brothers. and it is a unique bond between a brother and a sister which celebrate to show love and affection shared between a brother and a sister. Sisters tie a delicate cord of Rakhi on this day and pray for their brothers long life. Brothers, in turn, give them Rakhi gifts and vows to protect and care for them life long. So it is called Raksha Bandhan.
And on this day mainly the Newar community cook a special food called Kwati a mixure of sprouted legumes and eaten with wheat-bread (chapati). Kwati is the Newari word and the literary meaning of it, is hot soup. It is a soup of nine-mixed-beans – Black-eye Peas, Cow Peas, Black Lentils, Mung, Peas, Rajmas, Chickpeas, Soybeans, Favas. Some mix more beans too.
Janai Purnima signifies the end of the rainy month and beginning of the cold season in Nepal.
Newar farmers offer different food items to frogs on this day. Belief holds that worshiping the frog, which is considered an agent of the God of rainfall, by making offerings of different food items help to increase the production of crops.
Thus all celebrate Janai Purnima or Raksha Bandhan with great enthusiasm.
Today is Janai Purnima and we wish you all Happy Janai Purnima and Raksha Bandhan




It's been a very wet morning, but I did hear some music from the street earlier (around 6:30 a.m.).  When Ramon gets home I hope we can wander around town and see if we can see anything!  

There are more than 50 yearly festivals here I've heard, so there will be more posts about them!  

Have a nice day, whichever calendar you use!