Kathmandu. KATHMANDU — The Gurung community is celebrating ‘Tamu Lhosar’ tomorrow to mark the New Year. ‘Lho’ means year and ‘Sar’ means change, so the day when the year changes is called ‘Tamu Lhosar’. The Tamu Lhosar is celebrated as the New Year by the Gurung community. The government has declared a public holiday tomorrow on the occasion. Banks, stock exchanges, insurance companies and government offices will remain closed tomorrow.
The ‘Tamu Lhosar’ festival is associated with the rays of the sun. The festival is marked on the 15th of the Nepali month of Poush as sunrays arrive early in Lamjung, Gorkha, Tanahun, Syangja, Manang, Kaski and Parbat which have majority of Gurungs. It is believed that the festival is celebrated in the months of Magh and Falgun as the sun warms up in the areas inhabited by the Tamang and Sherpa communities respectively.
The festival is said to be important as the night of Poush 15 is the longest and the nights after this are decreasing. The government has declared a public holiday today on the occasion of Tamu Lhosar. On the occasion, the Gurung community has organized a special program at Tundikhel.
Today is also the new moon about Monday. On Monday, the day of the new moon is celebrated by taking a bath in the morning. According to Acharya Toyaraj Nepal, bathing in this way leads to happiness in married life and brings renewable results. The new moon date is also considered important for shraddha and tarpan.
