Rites Around the World

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, falls on January 31 this year.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, falls on January 31.

The dragon worship ceremony is held every 12 years in Shiping to pray for good fortune and harvest.

Makha Bucha Day honours Buddha and his teachings, and falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month.

The festival, which falls on February 14 this year, occurs on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and marks the end of the Spring Festival.

Shivratri, a festival dedicated to the worship of Hindu God Shiva, will be celebrated Thursday.

Hundreds of Sadhus from across country and neighboring India started to arrive at Pashupati Temple to attend the event. The Hindu festival also known as the birthday of Lord Shiva falls on 27 February.

More than 100,000 Hindu devotees including Sadhus from across the country and neighboring India are worshipping at the Pashupati temple to celebrate the birthday of Lord Shiva, the god of creation and destruction. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting.

"Shivaratri", or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction.

According to traditional customs, the bell ringers would walk through different villages and create huge amounts of noise to scare away evil spirits of winter and welcome spring. Their costumes consist of white trousers and striped shirts, including a sheepskin thrown over their shoulders and a big bell tied around their waist.

Bele Poklade has its roots in old pagan customs and is marked annually seven weeks before Easter. Children walk through the village to collect eggs, and at the end they jump over a fire to banish evil demons.

Tibetans across the world marked the arrival of the Wood Horse year with prayers and festivities.

Chhaupadi is a social tradition in the western part of Nepal for Hindu women which prohibits a woman from participating in normal family activities during menstruation because they are considered impure. The women are kept out of the house and have to live in a shed. This lasts between ten to eleven days when an adolescent girl has her first period; thereafter, the duration is between four and seven days each month. Childbirth also results in a ten to eleven-day confinement.