Tamu Lhosar: A Vibrant New Year of Nepal’s Gurung Community (Photo Feature)

Nepal’s Gurung community celebrated the Tamu Lhosar on Tuesday as their New Year. The community organized a grand ceremony at Tudikhel in the federal capital, Kathmandu, to mark the festival. During the program, Nepal’s Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, extended her wishes to the community with a speech.

Similarly, president Ramchandra Poudel also extended his wishes on the occasion.

In the Gurung language, ‘Lho’ means year and ‘Sar’ denotes change.    

Members of the Gurung community mark the festival by organising feasts and cultural programmes.

The festival is marked on the 15th day of the Nepali month of Poush with the first rays of the sunlight reaching the Gurung settlements in Lamjung, Gorkha, Tanahun, Syangja, Manang, Kaski and Parbat.    

The festival is marked by the Tamang and Sherpa communities later in the Nepali months of Magh and Falgun, respectively.    

The government has announced a public holiday on the occasion of Tamu Lhosar today. 

Members of the Gurung community have been observing a special programme at Tundikhel, Kathmandu, on the occasion of Tamu Lhosar.  

The Gurungs divide their year into 12 cycles and each cycle is represented by 12 different animals — Garuda (eagle), serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog, deer, mouse, cow, tiger and cat — which they call “Lho.”  

During each Lhosar, they bid farewell to the existing ‘Lho’ and welcome a new one.

This year, the Gurung community is going to celebrate Lhosar by bidding farewell to the Snake cycle and welcoming the Horse cycle on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, Nepal Prime Minister Sushila Karki has extended greetings of the Gurung community’s Tamu Lhosar and the Dura community’s Maipru Naku festivals by stating that the festivals could inspire the promotion of mutual unity, peace and goodwill. 

In a message today, Prime Minister Karki wished for happiness and prosperity in the lives of all Nepalis. 

In her message, PM Karki has extended greetings to all Nepalis at home and abroad on the occasion of the Gurung community’s Tamu Lhosar and the Dura community’s Maipru Naku festivals. 

Taking to her Facebook account today, PM Karki wished that the festivals may inspire to further strengthen our multicultural identity through mutual unity, peace and goodwill. (RSS)