Nepal celebrates biggest end-of-year festival to usher in New Year
It’s a colourful way to end the year with merry-making and lots of good cheers. In the Gurung or Tamu community in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal in South Asia, a festival was held to bid farewell to the passing year and usher in a new year.
The festival called Tamu Lhosar is derived from two words in the Gurung Language, ‘Lho’ which means year or age, and ‘Sar’ which means change; together, the word translates as ‘change of year’.
The festival is associated with the sun's rays and is marked on the 15th of the Nepali month of Poush which is the 9th month of both the Bengali calendar and the Nepali calendar.
The day is celebrated as a holiday with various events including rituals, dances, and cultural displays.
Participants gathered at the Tundikhel, a park in the centre of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu to mark the event with colourful processions on December 31, 2023.
Sunday’s event is the festival's climax, which includes the cleansing of homes, prayers, visits, and family feasts.
Traditional attire donned by the crowd makes the festival even more enthralling.
According to local media outlet The Himalayan, Congress President and former Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba emphasized the importance of the occasion, to maintaining the culture of the people.
He also wished residents of the Tamu community good health, long life, and continued progress.
Here are some pictures below captured by Reuters
