When is Gaura?
Gaura is a public holiday in Nepal on the third quarter of the moon in the month of Bhadra, which falls in August or September in the Western calendar.
Traditions of Gaura
This traditional Hindu festival begins on the day of Krishna Janmastami (birth of Lord Krishna), and lasts for three days. Though the festival is celebrated mainly in the western parts of Nepal, the first day is celebrated as a public holiday across the country.
The festival is observed by worshipping Lord Shiva and especially the goddess Guari (Parvati), the second wife of Shiva.
During Gaura, married women make idols of Shiva and Guari from grass. The women put on new clothes and sing traditional songs. The women also fast and many rituals take place at the numerous temples dedicated to Gauri, who is worshipped with Biruda - a mixture of five kinds of grains. The fasting women then return home and bless their husbands with Biruda, to give them long life and health.
The deuda dance is a major part of the festivities in which participants hold hands and form a circle as they step to traditional music.
According to legend, the festival is also celebrated in memory of Shiva's first consort, Sati Devi's bodily sacrifice to the burning altar and her reincarnation as Gauri.
