The festive season of Nepal has almost reached its fag end with the solitary Chhath festival still to grip the nation, mostly the tarai region. The Dashain festival and Tihar have already receded into the pages of history. So, has the new Nepal year. The question arises as to why we celebrate the festivals with such energy and enthusiasm. Do these festivals meet the expectations? Do they contribute to the physical, social and cultural well-being as expected?

It is well known that Tihar, celebrated mostly in the Nepali hills, is different from Deepawali that is observed in the Nepal tarai and India. In the hills community, it begins with honour shown to the icon of message, the crow, of security, the dog, of nourishment and fertiliser, the cow, of prosperity and wealth, Laxmi, of farming, the oxen, and of brotherhood the brothers and sisters.

Deepawali in turn begins with the observation of Dhanteras, meaning property, on the first day which is marked by the business community by cleaning and decorating the home premises. The second day is marked for the death of the demon, Narkaasura. The third day is followed with much fanfare to Lord Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth, by lighting lamps of several kinds, some traditional, others modern. The fourth day is Govardhan Puja, which is held in memory of Krishna, who saved the people of Brindaban during the great rain created by the rain God, Indra, for the disobedience by Krishna. The fifth day is devoted to the worshipping of the brothers by the sisters, which is also known as Bhaiduz.

Local variants also can be seen in plenty. Sisters undertake the beating of the grains, indicating the annihilation of the enemies of the brothers in the tarai. In Kathmandu, Mha Puja, or the worshipping of the body, is done in the Newar community. Those who do not have sisters go to the temple of Balgopaleshwore, which is in the centre of Rani Pokhari in Kathmandu. The girls play bhailo while the boys deushi in neighbouring households by singing and dancing and are rewarded in cash and kind after providing blessings for the well-being of the house owners.

The most spectacular is Laxmi Puja, which is observed by illuminating the houses and exploding fire crackers. It is of such high importance that the President also takes part with the Hindu community in the United States.

The festival is said to have come from the words feist or feista which means eating, drinking and making merry. It also means celebration that leads to excitement, joy and cheerfulness. One of the first festivals in the West goes back to 6th century BC in the year 534 BC when the Greeks organised it to please the God of Dance. In Nepal, the first Licchavi King Supuspa, the contemporary of the Buddha, is believed to have ruled during this period according to the 733 AD Pashupati inscription of King Jaya Dev II. The festival of Dashain appears to have started in this era in view of the image of Goddess Durga killing the demon Mahishasur at the Bhagwati Temple in Palanchok constructed during the reign of the illustrious fifth-century King Mana Dev.

Festivals are honoured on a particular date for a short period of time, which brings about social harmony. People visit their native places to meet their relatives whereby they exchange gifts, consume delicious food and drinks as well as put on new garments and even ornaments. Festivals provide a break from routine activities, evoking new kinds of feelings and emotions thereby creating unparalleled enjoyment.

A festival is commemorated to enjoy mental health and happiness. It has joy at its core. Joy has a positive emotion, and it has in its fold gratitude, fun, excitement and pleasure. It aims at unity in oneself and others, providing a sense of vitality, energy, aliveness, transcendence and freedom. Moreover, it provides motivation in the future on account of being blessed by God and seniors. It also promotes inter-religious bonhomie, for example, the Hindu and Muslim community, felicitating each other in India as well as in Nepal.

Though this is an intellectual recognition, the practical realisation is at times different. A study was made of the Ed celebration in Pakistan by Waqar Hussain et al about the levels of joy in Muslim celebration. It has been found that people enjoy the wedding of their friends more than the religious festivals. They appear to enjoy festivals at lower levels compared to other such social gatherings.

Almost similar is the case with the Christmas celebration. The general activities are spending time with family, participating in religious activities, maintaining traditions such as decorating a Christmas tree, spending money on others via the purchase of gifts, receiving gifts from others, helping others and enjoying the sensual aspects of the holiday such as good food. In a study by Tim Kasser et al. entitled 'What Makes a Merry Christmas', only 75 per cent of the participants reported experiencing sufficient positive aspects of the holiday, while about 10 per cent expressed feelings of negative aspects.

How about it in the celebration of Deepawali? Festivals result in additional expenditure, which is difficult for the people unable to make both ends meet. In some instances, the government provides such expenses, for example, equivalent to a month's salary for government employees in Nepal, but such privileges are not available to everybody. The case of Tihar and Deepawali celebration is thus not much different from that of Christmas or Ed.

Events like the homage of the cow, the crow and the oxen are almost things of the past. The traditional flavours are disappearing with the invasion of Western culture. There have been attempts to restore them by some local governments like in Panchthar district, which need to be supported by the provincial and federal governments as well.