Blog 08.10.19

Dashain Festival

This time every year Dashain festival is celebrated by Nepalese people all over the world. The festival symbolises the victory of good over evil.

The celebrations lasts 15 days and each day has its own meaning and significance, the first nine days of Dashain symbolises the battle which took place, the tenth day is the day of the victory. 

In preparation for Dashain, every home is cleansed and beautifully decorated, people return from all parts of the world to celebrate the festival together. Dashain is celebrated in a variety of different ways, riding kites has been an important part of celebrating Dashain and is a way to remind the god not to send anymore rain. Older members of the family will pass the time by play cards together. Bamboo swings represent the best of local culture, tradition, community spirit and fun, the swings are constructed by community members using traditional methods to build these, the height of some swings exceeds twenty feet. 

The main day of Dashain is called Tika and falls today Tuesday the 8^th of October, on this day the men, women and children visit their elders to seek tika (a dab of coloured powder mixed with yogurt and rice) accompanied by blessings and gifts.  

To celebrate as a team Vigilance traditionally runs its Dashain Dash in Hyde Park, this will return next year while we gather our strength for a Dash with extra special significance in 2020, more to follow in the coming months. Vigilance would like to wish its staff and customers a happy Dashain.