What is Nepali New Year?
नयाँ वर्ष
Nepali New Year is the first day of Baisakh, the first month of the Bikram Sambat calendar: family visits, new clothes, and Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur.
What Nepali New Year is
Nepali New Year, also called Navabarsha or Naya Barsa, is the first day of Baisakh, the first month of the Bikram Sambat calendar. Bikram Sambat is Nepal's official calendar, and its year number runs about fifty-six and a half years ahead of the Gregorian one. Most Nepali festivals follow the moon, but this day is set by the sun, so it lands in mid-April every year, give or take a day.
It is a public holiday in Nepal and it has no single ritual. It is a day for a fresh start: a bath, new clothes, a visit to a temple or monastery, a better meal than usual, and time with family. People greet each other with Naya Barsa ko shubhakamana, and wishes travel by phone to relatives who live far away.
Bisket Jatra and other new years
In Bhaktapur the new year is part of Bisket Jatra, a street festival that runs about nine days around the turn of the year. Chariots carrying the gods Bhairab and Bhadrakali are pulled through the old town, and a tall wooden pole is raised with ropes and later brought down again, while the two halves of the city pull against each other.
Nepal keeps more than one new year. Newar families mark Nepal Sambat during Tihar, the Himalayan communities keep Lhosar in winter, and the Maithili new year, Jur Shital, falls around the same days as Baisakh 1. Each has its own calendar and its own customs.
Nepali New Year away from home
In the US the day is rarely a holiday, so community groups usually mark it on the nearest weekend, often with a cultural programme, music and dance, a Nepali meal and food stalls. The event may fall a few days either side of the day itself, so check the organisers' date.
You do not need an event to keep it. Call home, wear something new, cook something sweet, and send Naya Barsa ko shubhakamana to the family group chat.
Common questions
- Nepali New Year kahile ho? When is Nepali New Year 2027?
- It is the first day of Baisakh, in mid-April. The exact Gregorian day is confirmed each year from the Nepal government calendar.
- What year is it in the Nepali calendar?
- Nepal's official Bikram Sambat calendar runs about fifty-six and a half years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. Because its new year begins in Baisakh, the Nepali year number goes up in mid-April, not in January.
- What is Bisket Jatra?
- Bisket Jatra is Bhaktapur's new year festival, about nine days of chariot processions and a tall wooden pole that is raised and brought down again, with the two halves of the city pulling against each other.
- Is Nepali New Year the same as Lhosar or Nepal Sambat?
- No. They are separate new years with their own calendars and customs: Nepal Sambat is the Newar new year, kept during Tihar, and Lhosar is the new year of the Himalayan communities, kept in winter.