Festivals in a foreign land!

November 2019

Fruits, nuts and flower garlands for sale during Tihar

The Christmas feeling starts early in Nepal – late September or early October to be precise!  It’s funny to sense that a festival is coming but it feels a long time before the UK’s main big festive season of Christmas and New Year.  It was not very cold but there was an autumn breeze, so it’s also the season when people fly kites and enjoy pings – huge swings made from 4 bamboo trunks.  They’re erected in open spaces only in this season and enjoyed until they break.  Dashain – the biggest festival in Nepal – is 10 days long and comes just before the rice harvest.  People eat a lot of meat.  I stayed with “my” Nepali family and I enjoyed my first taste of goat meat as well as pork and chicken.  On the 10^th day, those who are celebrating (Hindus) visit relatives and give and receive tika, a red mark on the forehead as a sign of blessing.  These are really big, often including rice.  The visiting lasts for several days to include different family members, with the most senior giving tika to their juniors.  This is when people might travel home to meet their family members.

The second festival a few weeks later is Tihar which was at the end of October. That feels very like Christmas because people decorate their houses with garlands of flowers, candles and strings of lights, but the lights only stay up for a few days.  There is even something like carol singing when young people go round houses and sing and people give them some snacks or money, like the figgy pudding idea but here it would be a round sweet ring called sel roti.  A big day is Laxmi puja when everyone cleans their home before making a coloured drawing outside and a path with lights into the home, inviting the goddess Laxmi to come in and bless them.  I was even invited into someone’s home at this time.  They had hardly any furnishings but a massive display of fruits and nuts and decorations in a room for the goddess.  On other days, dogs and crows are honoured and at the end, brothers and sisters bless each other.

We will celebrate Christmas too though… My Nepali youth group is organising a big invitation event on the 20^th with two dancing groups, one drama, one or two personal stories, some Christmas songs /worship and a meal.  They expect 200 people to come!!  Before that they’re going carol singing round church members’ homes – it sounds like the old days in the Christmas cards, but I’m sure we won’t get mince pies.  I’ve only seen one or two Christmas trees but there are poinsettia bushes / trees all over the place instead!  Maybe next month I’ll write about work, but I thought you’d like to get a taste of our different festivals!