Christmas in Nepal

Christmas is a Christian festival. But, apart from Christian faith, the festival is celebrated as festival of lights and gift-giving by people of other faiths. Youths in particular are more excited in the time as another excuse to have fun and entertainment. People visit places, go to restaurant and hang-out to celebrate the festival season. Family festivity, like other festivals, is not seen much in Nepal on Christmas.

Most of the people in Nepal are Hindu. But, the population of people with Christian faith are increasing. There are reports that the population of Christian in Nepal may be up to 1 Million.

The shops and malls are decorated in Christmas theme in the festival time. Apart from Christmas, as the festival is closer to English new year, people celebrate it as an extension of the New Year celebration too.

This year in 2021, Christmas in Nepal is on Poush 10, 2078. The festival falls on Saturday, a holiday in Nepal. Similarly the New Year also falls on Saturday.
Photo credit : Republica

The reasons Christmas is gaining popularity in Nepal are:

Government holiday – The government has been offering public holiday on the Christmas day. The government is encouraging people to celebrate the holiday.
Christian Conversion – A lot of Hindu have been converted to Christianity in the recent time. That is the reason the population of Christians in Nepal is in the rise.
Commercialization of the festival : This is a business opportunity for the businesses. Shopping malls feature Christmas decorations and also offer special offers for the festival.
Celebrities – When celebrities share Christmas photos on social media, others follow them.

This is how Christmas is gaining popularity as a festival in Nepal.

2016 photo of actress Keki Adhikari in Christmas attire.