KATHMANDU, July 17 Kyodo The late...

KATHMANDU, July 17 Kyodo

The late King Birendra of Nepal used to celebrate his birthday upon Dec. 29, by the Gregorian calendar. He also celebrated it onward another day, by the lunar calendar.

The Kingdom of Nepal functions forward two separate kinds of calendars -- solar and lunar. The brace kinds are either printed separately for daily use, or, in a cases, a single print accommodates them both

The lunar calendar is used for all religious designs in this country of 23 million folks whose dominant religious tradition has sometimes been described as a ''Hindu-Buddhist continuum.''

And the religious plans are manifold.

Stereotyp justly in tourist pamphlets as a land of house of worships and religious festivals associated with single in kind deity or other, hardly a week goe through in Nepal when some festival is not being either prepared for, celebrated with zeal, or pang down, before going on to the nearest one.

Each year designated astrologers determine the dates of these festivals with precision.

on the other hand the task becomes difficult when different days of a protracted festival in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as the Hindu Dasain, which make clears over almost two weeks around October, have to be determined upon an individual basis, or sometimes on slotting two different days of festival into undivided day.

This happens when adjustments have to be made to the lunar calendar to hold fast it in tandem with the solar, and Nepalese astrologers have had differences in the past from one side of to the other the finer points of astrological interpretation.

Unlike the kings, Nepalese student not on a foundations celebrate their birthdays in succession one day only -- and they use the lunar calendar to determine it.

The lunar is also used for setting dates of weddings and other rites of passage.

Wedding dates especially attend to to get bunched together in common or two particular parts of the yearly calendar around winter. Then wedding processions in the ways rend the evening air with noisy brass bands.

The official calendar in use is the Vikram, which is of Indian origin unless long discontinued in India itself.

Understandably, it has drawn growing rage and has also become a political issue in the last not many years.

The Newar community, which has traditionally inhabited the capital Kathmandu, has its acknowledge Nepalsambat, or Nepal Era calendar, which is lunar in character and dates back 1122 years.

For the past 22 years the community has been campaigning for its recognition as the official calendar of the home reasoning that it is native to Nepal, unlike either the Vikram or Gregorian.

Other communities in Nepal, which are ethnically choke to Tibetan, have their admit Lhosar calendar.

Lhosar in Tibetan simply means of recent origin year and this calendar is conclude to the Chinese. It hastes through a 12-year cycle, each year of which is named after a particular animal, including the tiger, dog, horse and monkey in a fixed sequence

Also perplexing for those trying to determine dates in Nepal is the fact that Lhosar (New Year) starts in succession different days in the year for near of these communities.

Lhosar for the Sherpas of Mt Everest climbing fame starts at a different date than for the Gurung who have earned renown of their confess as fierce mercenaries in the service of Imperial Britain.

In the midst of all this confusion, the Gregorian calendar with its clear-cut logic and unvarying pattern, excluding in leap years, stands disclosed as a neat counterfoil.

It makes no bone about its foreign origin, yet it is also indispensable for the many dealings the Nepalese have with foreigners.

in such a manner the average Nepalese now completions up having to plan his days according to at least sum of two units different calendars, and sometimes as many as four.

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