Culture and Tradition

Nepal has culturally much to offer to the tourists. The Nepalese celebrate 50 religious festivals each year involving 120 days of celebrations. Everyday there seems people observing festivals and ritual activities. Therefore, the tourists and culture books identify more than 366 annual festivals. For the Nepalese, festivals are not merely the annual spectacles, but also are a living part of their rich cultural heritage.

More than 100 caste/ethnic groups are accommodated in the country. The unity in diversity is really worth observing. Nepalese cultural mosaic comprises of ethnic groups, their languages, dresses and ornaments, food habits, village structure and its type, housing pattern, family pattern, rites and rituals, marriage pattern, ethos, cultural & aesthetic values, subsistence system, fairs and festivals, religious belief, priestlyhood, supernaturalism, faith healing system, shamanism, dances, songs etc. Culturally Nepal can be called a living museum for the people of Jet.

Nepal is a rich country in term of cultural heritage. Nepalese culture represents a fusion of Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Mongolian influences, the result of a long history of migration, conquest, and trade. The Nepalese culture has many symbols from Hindu and Buddhist sources. This multi-dimensional cultural heritage encompasses within itself the cultural diversities of various ethnic, tribal, and social groups inhabiting different altitudes, and it manifests in various forms: music and dance; art and craft; folklores and folktales; languages and literature; philosophy and religion; festivals and celebrations; and foods and drinks. Important among symbols for the nation as a whole are the national flower and bird, the rhododendron and Danfe (Lophophorous); the flag; and the crossed Kukhris (curved knives) of the Gurkhas. In nationalistic rhetoric the metaphor of a garland with hundreds of flowers is used to symbolize national unity amid cultural diversity. In Nepal they believe that ‘unity in diversity’ and it is the Nepalese speciality.

Being secluded from the external world due to the rugged ranges of the Himalayas, unique ways of life have developed in Nepal. These, in turn, have given rise to different types of customs and traditions in the country. For instance, Nepalese do not shake their hands like westerners to greet each other; they instead place their palms together—with the fingers up—in front of their chest or chin and say “Namaste” or "Namaskar" to superiors.

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