Dashain is the most important holiday in Nepal, and the biggest festival of the year. The 15 days of celebration, which are devoted to worship of the goddess Durga, end on the full moon. In preparation for the holiday, every home in Nepal is cleaned and decorated (including Ama Ghar). The first nine days of the holiday, called Nawa Watri, are for fun and playing – for the Ama Ghar children it means kite flying, swinging on a bamboo Ping (a big swing) and playing a dice game for money.
So as soon as all were home from school to start their vacation, we at Ama Ghar built our Ping, got out the dice game and the kites and we’re having fun, as you can see in these photos!
The 10th day of Dashain, called Dashami is when we get together with far-flung family members to receive blessing, take Tika and have a puja.