Gai jatra is a festival celebrated in Nepal mainly in Kathmandu valley by Newar community.The festival commemorates the death of people during the year and is generally celebrated in the month of Bhadra (August- September). The date is set according to the lunar Nepal Era calendar: it falls on the first day of the dark fortnight of the month of [Gunla]. As cow is the national animal of Nepal.The Festival of Cows is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. It is celebrated to diminish the sadness from the death of family members. During the festival, cows are marched in the streets. People also distribute food to others.In the early morning, local Newars give a bath to the cow, especially cleaning their tails. Then the cows are decorated with red Tika and beautiful garlands. After those rituals, the cow processions begin to parade around the whole Kathmandu valley. If the cow is not available, young boys will dress up as cows to pray for the dead. During the boisterous marches, they will deliberately walk through the temples, the statues of the gods and other sacred places. When the parades pass by, many people will offer the food, gift and petty cash to the cow owners and the cow-like boys. It's believed that this kind of giving will bring them good luck in the following days.
Gai Jatra is a traditional festival for Newari people and prevails in the three ancient cities in Nepal, namely, Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. The details of the celebration may be different, but the core of the festival of cows is exactly the same.
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