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Nepalese Festivals: A Celebration of Religion, Culture, and Community in the UK

08 Aug 2024


Do you want to experience vibrant Nepalese cultural celebrations in the UK? This article will teach you about the UK's popular Nepalese festivals and celebrations. Many migrants live in the UK, including more than 150,000 Nepalese. Most Nepalese come to the UK to look for highly paid jobs, earn, and send money to Nepal to their families awaiting financial support. The UK welcomes all Nepalese and annually holds various Nepalese cultural and religious festivals. These include celebrations of events like Nepali Mela, Dashain, and Tihar.
 

Nepalese festivals are culturally enriched and hold great historical importance. Moreover, they are full of fun and excitement. Nepalese expats in the UK enjoy attending cultural and religious events in a foreign land, which develops a sense of belonging to Nepalese with the UK. These festivals are important to keeping Nepalese expats connected with their cultural roots and celebrations. Expats often feel isolated, especially on religious occasions or community events, because they miss their homeland. However, the UK cares and respects expats and hosts Nepalese community celebrations:

Popular Nigerian Festivals Celebrated in the UK

Living in the UK, you would be eager to making money, securing your financial future through making money transfer to Nepal for your family’s help, and enjoy Nepalese celebrations in the UK. Attending Nepalese community celebrations in the UK will keep you connected with the old civilization of Nepal and will create your link with the UK. Scroll down to read about popular Nigerian festivals celebrated in the UK.

Dashain - Longest Religious Festival

Dashain is a famous religious festival of the Nigerian community. Based on Hindu belief, it is celebrated to show affection for the victory of the goddess Durga. It holds significance for truth and victory over evil powers. It is a 15-day cultural celebration that falls between September and October. Nepalese in the UK celebrate these occasions by visiting their Nepalese friends or neighbors in the UK. They decorate their homes and host grand worshipping of the Durga goddess. Traditional foods are cooked and served.

Tihar - Festival of Lights

Tihar is also known as Dewaali. It is celebrated for five consecutive days, and a different animal is worshipped each day. In the UK, the Nepalese community lights up their homes with lights, candles, or lamps and feeds different animals like crows, dogs, cows, and oxen. They worship and serve animals to maintain the interconnected nature of humans and animals.

Holi - Spring Festival

Holi is an exciting and fun festival for Nepalese. Nepalese living in the UK also send money either through offline or online money transfers to Nepal as a Holi gift. It's a festival of colors celebrated to welcome spring. In the UK community, organizers arrange these events at a large scale at open public places such as parks, and natives of the UK also take part in this celebration.

Teej - Religious & Cultural Event

Teej is a cultural and religious event commemorating the reunion of the goddess Parvati with Shiva. Today, women fast for their husbands' long lives and celebrate by breaking the fast and worshipping their husbands. In the UK, Nepalese women gather in centers dressed in red saris and loaded with heavy jewelry. They dance and sing to celebrate Teej.

Gurung Festivals - Tamu Lhosar

Gurung is the name of the Nepalese community in the UK. The Gurung community of Nepal celebrates Tamu Lhosar in the UK. It is a cultural festival celebrated during the harvesting of new crops. In the UK, the Gurung community gathers in bigger halls, wears traditional attire, and cooks and eats traditional food like sel roti and meat. It is celebrated at the end of the harvest season.

Limbu - Traditional Dancing Fest

Limbu is also a community in Nigeria that celebrates a traditional dancing festival known as Chasok Tangnam. On this day, the Nepalese community dances and sings to offer the first fruit of the new harvest to the goddess. People dress in traditional clothes and perform traditional dances such as ascending. The Limbu community also connects with their families in Nepal and sends money online to Nepal from the UK to encourage their families to celebrate community events.

Maghi - Cultural and Religious

Maghi is a festival of the Magr community of Nepal. The Magar community in the UK organizes great communal gatherings. They cook traditional food, sing traditional folk songs, and perform traditional dances. It is celebrated as a symbol of family reunion. So, enormous get-togethers are organized, and people enjoy the company of their loved ones.

Sakela- Cultural and Traditional Dances

Sakela is another popular festival in Nepalese. The Rai community of Nepal celebrates this festival in the UK every year. It is also celebrated during harvesting, and special ceremonies are arranged to pray for a good harvest. It is celebrated to foster cultural unity. People wear Nepalese traditional clothes and enjoy the occasion.

Significance of Nepalese Religious, Cultural, and Community Celebrations in the UK

Nepal's cultural celebrations are significant for Nepalese students and expats living in the UK. Overseas Nepalese miss their land, cultural, and traditional values and feel lonely. Celebrations of such culture keep their spirit alive. At such events, they send money from the UK to Nepal as gifts or a token of love.

  • Celebration of such culture in the UK highlights the diversity of the UK and its flexibility for other communities.
  • It fosters unity, and Nepalese and the local people of the UK celebrate most events like Holi together without any cultural barriers.
  • These celebrations promote cultural preservation.
  • It promotes cultural exchange as friends of Nepalese in the UK also contribute to these events.
  • It creates a sense of association for Nepalese in the UK
  • It encourages other people to come abroad and enjoy their cultural celebration in a new way.

Read more about the history and traditions of the United Kingdom Nepalese Diaspora must know.
 

Nepalese communities in the UK can enjoy similar tastes to Nepal's traditional and cultural festivals. The UK organizes cultural, religious, and communal celebrations for Nepalese people. The popular Nepalese festivals, such as Holi, Dashain, Teej, and Tihar, are celebrated with great enthusiasm and the holy spirit. Nepalese decorate their homes in the UK, invite their friends, arrange community meetings, cook traditional foods, and enjoy folk songs and cultural dances. Different Nepalese communities celebrate occasions like harvesting, praising the victory of goddesses, and building connections with animals.

Cultural Roots Abroad: Nepalese Festivals in the UK

Nepalese people living in the UK can stay connected to their cultural roots by attending similar Nepalese events in the UK. Sending money to Nepal from UK to their loved ones as a token of love or gifts on special occasions is what cures their homesickness. Moreover, they can have get-togethers with the Nepalese community living in the UK. Nepal's cultural, religious, and communal festivals are celebrated in the UK, including Dashain, Teej, Tihar, Gurung, Limbu, Magar, Rai, and Sakela.
 

Each festival represents the essence of Nepalese cultural and traditional norms. They are celebrated in the UK to preserve Nepalese cultural heritage. Some festivals are religiously related to worshipping gods or goddesses, and others are linked with seasonal celebrations. Holi is one of the most popular events celebrated publicly and at a large scale, where people play with colors to welcome the spring season. Similarly, Tihar is celebrated to worship animals. Nepalese lighten up their houses in the UK, organize greater worship, and serve traditional food.
 

FAQs

Which Nepalese cultural and religious festivals are celebrated in the UK?

Many famous religious and communal Nepalese cultures are celebrated in Nepal, including Dashain, Teej, Tihar, Gurung, Limbu, Magar, Rai, and Sakela. These festivals are observed in different communities of Nepal.

Which types of Nepalese festivals are organized in the UK?

Religious festivals, seasonal festivals, and Nepalese community festivals are celebrated in the UK. Religious festivals include Holi, Tihar, Teej, Dashain, and Limbu. Seasonal festivals include Holi and Sakela. The communal festivals of Sakela, Limbu, and Gurung are also celebrated in the UK.

What is the significance of celebrating Nepalese cultural festivals in the UK?

Celebrations of Nepalese culture in the UK are crucial for preserving cultural heritage. They build a connection of Nepalese with the land of the UK. They promote unity and foster the spirit of cultural festivals in the next generation.

How is Dashain celebrated in the UK?

In the UK, Nepalese families organize community gatherings and offer greater worship to goddesses. People wear transitional attire, and cultural meals are cooked and served.

How do Nepalese in the UK send money to their families in Nepal on special occasions?

ACE Money Transfer allows Nepalese expats to send money to Nepal from the UK, even on festivals, because ACE's services are always available. Through ACE, they can connect to their banks or digital wallets and make successful transactions.


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