Dashain

Dashain or Bada'dashain, also known as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a Hindu religious festival observed primarily in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Indian regions of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, and South India. It is also celebrated by followers of some other religions in Nepal and elsewhere, including the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gurkhas of Myanmar. The festival is also known as Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the festival: Navaratri (Nine Nights). The longest festival in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendars, it is celebrated by Nepali Hindus and their diaspora. In Nepal, the 15-day festival is the country's longest. People return from all parts of the world and different parts of the country to celebrate together. The festival falls in September or October, beginning on the Shukla Paksha (bright lunar night) of the month of Ashwin and ending on Purnima, the full moon. Of the fifteen days it is celebrated, the most celebrated are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and fifteenth. From the first day (Pratipada), the worship of the nine forms of Goddess Durga is performed in sequence—Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalaratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri. Alongside this, the recitation of the Saptashati (Chandi) is carried out, and special worship and devotion are offered to the nine Durgas as well as the three supreme powers—Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasaraswati."