Maghe Sankranti is the beginning of the holy month of Magh, usually the mid of January. It brings an end to the ill-omened month of Poush (mid-December) when all religious ceremonies are forbidden. Even if it is considered the coldest day of the year, it marks the coming of warmer weather and better days of health and fortune.

This day is said to be the most significant day for holy bathing despite the weather. This ritual usually takes place at the union of sacred rivers and streams. Sankhamole, on the banks of the holy Bagmati River, below Patan, is thought to be amongst the most sacred sites for this purpose, though there has been a decline in the fulfillment of this ritual in the recent years due to water pollution in the river. But people still go in the wee hours of dawn just to sprinkle themselves with the water. They pay homage to various deities specially the temple of Red Machhendranath and Agnimata.

In addition to holy bathing and worship of shrines, certain auspicious foods like till laddoos (sea same seeds ball cakes), chaku (molasys), ghee (clarified butter), sweet potatoes, khichari (mixture of rice and lentils) and green leaf spinach are taken on this day. Families come together and share these delights. Married daughters and families are invited to parental homes for festivities and blessings. Yet another occasion to renew family ties. Many homes have pujas (religious ceremonies) conducted by priests with chanting from holy books, for which they receive alms.

Like any other holy celebration Maghi Sankranti also has a legend of its own. It recalls that once a merchant from the town of Bhadgoan despite of his thriving business noticed that his supply of sea same seeds hadn't diminished. When looking into the matter he found an idol of the Lord Vishnu hidden deep beneath the seeds. Since, then on this day the Til Mahadev idol is worshipped with the belief that god will continue to be generous in the supply of food and wealth on the Bhadgoan community. It's also the day commemorating the death of Viswapitamaha, the elderly grandfather of two families of Pandavas and Kauravas, between whom the famous battle of Mahabharata took place. He was determined not to die until the way to the region of gods opened. While lying on the bed of arrows he discovered words of wisdom on life and death. Eventually, through his free will he succumbed to death. Hence it's believed that those who die on this day go to heaven, released from the burden of rebirth. Maghi Sankranti is yet another occasion which renews the faith of Nepalese people in the heavenly powers.

Saraswati Puja or Shree Panchami is a day to celebrate the birthday of Saraswati – the Goddess of Learning. This is a day when people from school students to scholars worship their pens and books to please the Goddess and expect her favor in their studies so they become wise and knowledgeable.

People also throng around the idol of Goddess Saraswati, especially in Swayambhunath and offer flowers, sweets, fruits, etc. On this day, small children are taught to read and write and people write on the stones and slabs with chalks and pencils. This day falls between January/February which is regarded as a very auspicious day for marriages too as it is believed that Goddess Saraswati herself blesses the couples. Normally it is the astrologers who fix the marriage date and time in Nepal.

Shivaratri or the night of Lord Shiva that falls sometime between February/March is one of the major festivals of Nepal. This day is dedicated to the Lord of the Lords – Lord Shiva or Mahadev ho lived in Mt. Kailash in the Himalayas. Lord Shiva is the most worshipped God in the Hindu religion. More than 100,000 of Hindu devotees from India and Southeast Asia throng weeks ahead of the festival and gather in and around Pashupatinath temple – one of the holiest shrines of the Hindus in Kathmandu to pay their homage to Lord Shiva on his birthday. “Pashupatinath” literally means “the Lord of animals” as Lord Shiva is considered as the guardian and protector of everything that exists in the Himalayan Kingdom. On this holy day, worshippers take dip and bath in the holy river at early dawn and fast for the whole day and stay around fire to keep them warm as it is still winter in Nepal. In the afternoon an official function is held to celebrate this festival at Tundikhel. The Nepal Army organises a show in which series of gun fire are sounded. The devotees also freely indulge in using marijuana and other intoxicating substances as these things are believed to please Lord Shiva and marijuana use is legal only on this sacred day.

This festival of water and colors that falls between February/March is also known as “Fagu” in Nepal. This day is observed to rejoice the extermination of female demon Holika who together with her King Brother conspired to kill his son Pralhad, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. This day, playful people especially the young ones wander through the streets in groups on foot or vehicles with various colors smeared all over them and the people in houses make merry throwing colors and water balloons at each other and also to these people on the streets.

This festival is the biggest socio - cultural event of Patan. The wheeled chariot of deity known as Bungdyo or Red Machhendranath is made at Pulchowk and dragged through the city of Patan is several stages till in reaches the appointed destination. The grand finale of the festival is called the Bhoto Dekhaune or the showing of a vest” A similar kind of chariot festival to Machhendranath is also held in Kathmandu city in the month of March April.

The Teechi (also pronounced “Teeji”) festival is an annual event indigenous to Lo-Manthang (Upper Mustang). The name is an abbreviation of the word “Tempa Chirim” which translates as “Prayer for World Peace”. This festival commemorates the victory of Lord Buddha’s incarnation “Dorjee Sonnu” over a demon called Man Tam Ru, a vicious creature feeding on human beings and causing storms and droughts.

The Teeji festival usually takes place during the last week of May and last for 3 days. Dances performed by the monks of Lo Manthang’s  “choedhe” monastery during the celebration display. The harassment of Ma Tam Ru Ta (in a dance called “Tsa Chham” on the first day), the birth of Dorjee Sonnu s the demon’s son (on the second day called “Nga Chham”), theattempt to return the demon to lord Buddha’s realm (on the third and final day). The Teeji festival dances are all organized by the Choedhe Monastery, which is that of the Shakya sect of Lo Manthang.

This festival falls on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Shrawan. Ghanta Karna, which means “Bell Ears”, was a horrible demon who was so named because he wore bell earrings to drown out the name of Vishnu, his sworn enemy. The festival celebrates his destruction when a god, disguised as a frog, lured him in to a deep well where the people stoned him to death. Ghanta Karna is burnt in effigy on this night and evil is cleansed from the land for another year.

Following the arrival of the monsoons and the planting season in the fields, Buddhists in the Kathmandu Valley observe the Gunla festival. The month long event celebrates a 'rains retreat' initiated 25 centuries ago by the Buddha.

Gunla is a time for prayer, fasting, meditation and religious music. Worshippers climb past jungles, stone animals, great statues of Buddha and begging monkeys to the hilltop at Swayambhu where daily prayers begin before dawn. Oil lamps, prayer flags, religious statues and paintings adorn the monasteries whilst temple bells chime and powerful incense fills the air. Important statues are put on display and the teachings of Lord Buddha are remembered as the rains feed the rice crop.

On Janai Purnima, when the moon is full in August, high caste Hindus chant the powerful Gayatri mantra and change their Sacred Thread (or janai) while a red or yellow protection chord (a rakshya bandhan) is tied around the wrists of other Hindus and Buddhists. Many pilgrims journey to the mountains north of Kathmandu to emulate Lord Shiva by bathing in the sacred lake of Gosaikunda.

Those unable to make the trek north, celebrate at Shiva's Kumbheshwor Mahadev temple. Here a pool with an image of Shiva at its centre is filled with water believed