The Dashain holiday in Nepal is one of family gatherings, interaction and the elders blessing the younger members of the family.
Blessing the ping
At Ama Ghar many of our children return to their villages to celebrate with relatives or friends of family. Those that are at home have many days of visitors to give blessings and lots of extra time for play. Our traditional bamboo ping (a swing) is constructed and shared with the village. Our newest arrival, Sabin, got the honor of helping with the blessing of the ping.
Returning home to Ama Ghar for a blessing were our three oldest “alumni” who are self sufficient but always return to Ama Ghar for Dashain whenever possible. This year we had all three on the same day, quite a treat. The other treat this year was blessings given by Tan Bahadur Uncle who usually is not with us this time of year.
House father Tan Bahadur giving tika blessings
Along with the blessings come gifts of fruit, chocolate and money. Gambling with a traditional dice game is a popular pastime with the Dashain money received. In this picture, Manisha is smiling as she is the dealer who usually makes the most money!
Enjoying gambling games, with Manisha at bottom left.
Other than gambling, the little ones were busy flying kites, enjoying the sandbox and our new donation of a kids table which is perfect for PlayDough!
The little ones love the new play table!