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Explore Hindu and Sanatana Dharma festival observances in Nepal, with dates, meanings, and beginner-friendly festival guides.
Guides
4
2026 Dates
4
Public Holidays
0
This collection brings together 4 festival guides for Nepal, including public holidays, religious observances, seasonal traditions, and community celebrations. It is designed for quick date lookup as well as deeper reading on meaning, local names, food, observance, and cultural context.
Public holidays
0
Dated in 2026
4
Start with major guides that have strong date, holiday, source, or cultural context.
March 19-27, 2026 (Thursday-Friday) — Chaitra Navratri / Vasanta Navratri.
Chaitra Navratri
The spring Navratri invites devotees to begin the year with shakti upasana, discipline, and sattvic living.
November 15, 2026 (Sunday) — Sandhyā Arghya; November 16 — Uṣā Arghya
Chhath Puja
Chhaṭh is the festival of total surrender to the sun. Unlike most Hindu festivals where worship is conducted through deity-idols, Chhaṭh is direct: the sun himself is the deity, the river-water is the temple, the standing devotee is the offering. The 36-hour fast is among the most-difficult in the Hindu calendar; the offering to setting sun (the sun on his way to die) and to rising sun (the sun reborn) is a meditation on death and rebirth. Chhaṭh-vratīs are described as having achieved siddhi for their respective wishes — the festival has a singular reputation for granting whatever is asked. This is partly because the discipline is so total that nothing is left to ask for.
April 25, 2026 (Saturday) — Vaisakha Shukla Navami.
Sita Navami (Janaki Navami)
Sita Navami marks the birth of Sita (Janaki) — she was found by King Janaka while ploughing the earth, hence called 'Ayanija' (earth-born) or 'Bhumija'. The earth herself is Sita's mother. Sita is revered as the ideal of wifely devotion, courage, and purity — she followed Rama into forest exile and endured captivity in Lanka. Her story in the Ramayana is the archetype of feminine strength and virtue. On this day women fast and pray for marital bliss in the image of Sita.
December 14, 2026 (Monday) — Margashirsha Shukla Panchami.
Vivah Panchami
Vivah Panchami celebrates the divine marriage of Lord Rama and Sita — which took place on this tithi in the Treta Yuga. Sage Vishvamitra had brought Rama and his brother Lakshmana to Mithila. The condition of Sita's swayamvar was to string and lift the Shiva Dhanush (divine bow). Rama not only lifted but broke the bow. Their wedding is described in the Valmiki Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. Janakpur in Nepal (Sita's birthplace) and Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace) have the grandest celebrations with the entire wedding ceremony re-enacted.
Date-ready pages for fast planning and calendar discovery.
Chaitra Navratri
चैत्र नवरात्रि
Sita Navami (Janaki Navami)
सीता नवमी / जानकी नवमी
Chhath Puja
छठ पूजा
Vivah Panchami
विवाह पञ्चमी
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Showing 4 of 4 matched festival pages.
चैत्र नवरात्रि
Chaitra Navratri honours the nine forms of Durga across nine days. It overlaps with regional new-year observances such as Gudi Padwa and Ugadi, and culminates near Rama Navami in many calendars.
Chaitra Shukla Pratipada to Navami
सीता नवमी / जानकी नवमी
Sita Navami marks the birth of Sita (Janaki) — she was found by King Janaka while ploughing the earth, hence called 'Ayanija' (earth-born) or 'Bhumija'. The earth herself is Sita's mother. Sita is revered as the ideal of wifely devotion, courage, and purity — she followed Rama into forest exile and endured captivity in Lanka. Her story in the Ramayana is the archetype of feminine strength and virtue. On this day women fast and pray for marital bliss in the image of Sita.
Shukla Navami of Vaisakha (April/May)
छठ पूजा
(1) Karna (Mahabharata), son of Surya, popularized Chhath; (2) Sita performed Chhath at Munger after returning from Lanka; (3) Draupadi performed Chhath. Worship of Surya as the visible Brahman.
Kartik shukla shashthi (October-November); 4-day festival starting from Kartik shukla chaturthi
विवाह पञ्चमी
Vivah Panchami celebrates the divine marriage of Lord Rama and Sita — which took place on this tithi in the Treta Yuga. Sage Vishvamitra had brought Rama and his brother Lakshmana to Mithila. The condition of Sita's swayamvar was to string and lift the Shiva Dhanush (divine bow). Rama not only lifted but broke the bow. Their wedding is described in the Valmiki Ramayana and the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. Janakpur in Nepal (Sita's birthplace) and Ayodhya (Rama's birthplace) have the grandest celebrations with the entire wedding ceremony re-enacted.
Shukla Panchami of Margashirsha (November/December)