Wed Sep 25 03:45:48 UTC 2024: ## President Paudel Calls for Unity in Preserving Nepali Cultural Heritage on Jitiya Festival
**Kathmandu, September 25, 2024** – President Ram Chandra Paudel has emphasized the importance of indigenous festivals like Jitiya in promoting mutual respect, goodwill, and tolerance, thus safeguarding the country’s diversity. In his message on the occasion of the festival, celebrated today, President Paudel urged all Nepalis to unite in preserving their unique cultural heritage.
He highlighted the need to continue celebrating such festivals to foster an ideal social and cultural environment and to encourage a virtuous lifestyle. Jitiya is a significant festival for married women in the Tharu and Madhesi communities, particularly in the Mithila region. They observe this festival by worshipping God for the long life, health, success, and well-being of their children and families.
The festival falls on the eighth day of the waning moon (Krishna Pakshya) in the Nepali month of Ashwin, according to the lunar calendar. As part of the celebrations, women partake in a special midnight feast of “Ogatan” before undertaking a fast that prohibits even the consumption of water. Prior to the fast, women devotees take a holy bath in nearby rivers, ponds, or lakes.
First Piper 