Lhochhar Festival - Gurung Cultural Festival
Tamu Lhochhar is one of the biggest Nepali-Buddhist traditional festivals celebrated majorly by the Gurung Community. It marks the beginning of the Gurung New Year, which falls on the 15th day of Push in the Nepali Calendar and last week of December in the English Calendar. Gurung peoples also represent the years with a cycle of 12 years representing various creatures: garuda, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog, deer, mouse, cow, tiger and cat. All the family members and friends come together to celebrate this festival, exchanging greeting and best wishes among themselves.
A special programme is organised at major cities across Nepal in order to make the people of Nepal and all tourists one in celebrating such a festival with dotted arrays of cultural programs, traditional food stalls, and on-the-spot competitions. For travelers and cultural enthusiasts, Tamu Lochhar forms one of the best times to plan one's tour in Nepal to be treated with the unmatched hospitality by the Gurungs. The festival was celebrated with fanfare as Gurungs were attired in their traditional dresses.
Tamu Lhochhar is the celebration marking the end of winters and heralds the arrival of spring. Its history is said to date back to the pre-Buddhist era in Nepal. It is one of the major festivals of the country, celebrated with great fervour; though it's mainly a Gurung festival, all communities participate with equal zeal showcasing the communal and regional harmony of the country.
The dale for Tamu Lhochhar falls on the 15th day in the month of Poush as per Nepali Bikram Sambat Calendar. People from the Gurung community gather at a common ground and celebrate the occasion, singing, dancing and feasting on traditional Gurung food that typically includes ‘Sel Roti’ and ‘Achaar’.
The day starts with Tamu Lhochhar, when the Gurung people go to monasteries and shrines to offer prayers for a happy and prosperous new year. Later, it is time to meet family and friends, greet them, and take blessings from elders. In due course of time, attires get decked and people sashay off to the fairs, embellished with all possible arrays of enjoyment comprising music, dance, joy rides for kids, and many traditional food stuff prepared with varieties of dishes within the ethno-cultural taste and trait of the Gurungs. At festivals, Gurung males wear a Bhangra which is a white apron with a Kachhad- a short. Gurung women, children, and adolescents wear Ghalek- a velvet blouse and ornaments of gold, such as earrings and necklaces of semi-precious stones. In small and large groups of people, they feast during the festival and perform various traditional dances during the feast. Home-made Raksi is served during the feast.
