Farmers Commemorate Rice Planting Day With Special Festivities in Nepal

Thousands of families across Nepal celebrated an annual paddy festival, splashing in the muddy fields and enjoying a memorable feast. The festivities were attended by other villagers and visitors from cities who were traveling through the Himalayan nation.

Millions of Nepalese depend on rice as their primary grain, usually planted once a year in July and harvested four months later.

Farmers and their families sang traditional songs to welcome the rain the rice needed for its growth and thanked the gods for sending the precipitation on time. They planted rice lines first, swam around in the muddy fields, coating each other in mud and sand, and then danced some more until the celebration ended with a feast.

The feast is also known as “dahi chiura” because of the yogurt and beaten rice that comprises one of the main dishes eaten during the feast. People in other parts of the nation celebrated the day at home by eating yogurt and puffed rice with mangoes and bananas.

It is worth noting that the government has proclaimed National Paddy Day as a holiday to encourage people to continue or return to farming rice.