The traditional cultural festival ‘Gaijatra’, which is celebrated for eight days every year from Bhadra Krishna Pratipada to Ashtami, is being started today by organizing various programs across the country.
In memory of relatives who have passed away within a year, it is customary to circumambulate a cow or a human being in the form of a cow in their respective areas and give them milk, fruits, bread, chiura, curd as well as grain and money by the devotees. It is a religious belief that people who have died in this way will cross Vaitarani holding the tail of a cow.
The government has given a public holiday in Kathmandu Valley on the occasion of Gaijatra.