JANAI PURNIMA
This festival falls in the month of August. This festival is of the sacred thread.
Janai Purnima is the day when Hindus change "the Janai", the sacred thread they wear on their persons. This full moon day sees flocks of Brahmins, the Hindu priests, at the holy river banks. They take ritual dips in the water and offer ablution to the Gods. They then change their sacred threads and also tie yellow sacred threads around the wrists of their clients.
The native Newars of the Kathmandu Valley call this festival "Gunhi Punhi". "Kwanti" a soup of nine different sprouted beans, is prepared as the special menu of the day. Having this "Kwanti" in this season cleans our stomach. There is a saying that if we have "Kwati" on this day, we will not suffer from any stomach aches.Newars do not eat rice on this day. They have only the flour items.
At Kumbeshwor, in Patan, a richly decorated symbol of Lord Shiva, is placed on a raised platform in the middle of the Kumbheshwor (Kwonti) pond to receive homage from devotees. Another ceremony that takes place here is called "Byanja nakegu" in which rice is offered to frogs in gratitude for a good rain.
In Bhaktapur, as a prelude to Saparu (Gai Jatra), the next day, a "Jujuya Ghintang - gishi" ( King's Carnival) goes around town in the evening. The participants dress in outlandish costumes and dance to the tune of traditional music.
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