Sonam Lhosar, the New Year’s day festival of Tamang and Hyolmo communities, is being celebrated with various events on Thursday.
The festival falls on the first day of the bright fortnight in the month of Magh according to the Nepali calendar.
It is especially celebrated with great fanfare in various districts of Bagmati province where the majority of Tamangs live.
Sonam Lhosar is divided into 12 cyclical categories of mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog and pig.
The festival is celebrated by worshiping the land and ancestors, offering donations, organizing feasts, singing, dancing, and exchanging good wishes.
Along with the Tamang and Hyolmo peoples, Thakali, Jirel, Nesyangwa, Bhote, Dura, Lepcha, and other communities living in different parts of the country also celebrate the festival according to their traditions.
In Kathmandu, Sonam Lhosar is being celebrated with various events at Tundikhel, Bauddha, and Swayambhu.
President Ram Chandra Paudel, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal, and leaders of various political parties have extended their best wishes on the occasion of Sonam Lhosar.