National Symbols and Public Holidays of Nepal: The Official Government List

Nepal's principal national symbols are not left to custom; they are written into the Constitution of Nepal, promulgated on 20 September 2015 (3 Ashoj 2072 BS). Part 1 of the constitution defines the symbols, and three of the document's schedules give their precise form.

Article 8 establishes the national flag and refers detailed construction rules to Schedule 1. Article 9 then sets out the rest: it provides that the national anthem shall be as in Schedule 2, the coat of arms (national emblem) as in Schedule 3, and in a single clause names the national flower, national colour, national animal and national bird. Because these designations sit inside the constitution itself, changing them would require a constitutional amendment rather than an ordinary government notification.

Nepal's flag is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. As described in Article 8, it consists of two juxtaposed triangular pennons (a double pennon) with a crimson-coloured base and deep blue borders. In the upper triangle is a white crescent moon shown with eight rays visible out of sixteen; in the lower triangle is a white twelve-rayed sun. The crimson field reflects bravery and the rhododendron, while the blue border is read as a symbol of peace; the moon and sun are commonly interpreted as a wish that the nation endure as long as those celestial bodies.

Schedule 1 is unusual among national constitutions in that it lays out a step-by-step geometric construction for the flag, beginning with a base line AB and building the triangles, the crescent moon (with its eight triangular rays) and the twelve-rayed sun from defined points, circles and arcs. Many of the guide lines and circles named in the schedule are stated to be imaginary and are not printed on the finished flag. The current design dates to 16 December 1962, when the shape and emblems were standardized, and it was carried into the 2015 constitution.

The national anthem, 'Sayaun Thunga Phulka' (loosely, 'Woven from Hundreds of Flowers'), appears in Schedule 2. Its lyrics were written by Byakul Maila (pen name of Pradeep Kumar Rai) and the music composed by Amber Gurung. It was officially adopted on 3 August 2007, replacing the earlier monarchy-era anthem associated with the Shah kings, after the government selected it from more than a thousand submitted entries. The text praises Nepal's sovereignty, unity, diversity of peoples and cultures, and its landscape of plains, hills and mountains.

Schedule 3 contains the coat of arms, or national emblem, used by the Government of Nepal. It depicts Mount Everest above green hills and the yellow Terai plains, a pair of joined male and female hands signifying gender equality, a garland of rhododendron (the national flower), the white silhouette of Nepal's map, and the national flag. At the base, on a red scroll, is the Sanskrit motto 'Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi' — 'Mother and Motherland are greater than Heaven.' The emblem was first adopted in 2008 and was revised in 2020 to reflect Nepal's updated political map.

Unlike many countries where natural emblems are designated by custom or ministry order, Nepal names four of its living and chromatic symbols directly in Article 9 of the constitution. This places the cow, the rhododendron, the colour crimson and the danphe on the same legal footing as the flag and anthem.

The cow has long held religious significance in Nepal, a constitutionally secular state with a Hindu-majority population, and its slaughter has historically been restricted by law. The Himalayan monal, locally called danphe, is a vividly iridescent pheasant of the high Himalaya. The tree rhododendron, known in Nepali as lali gurans, blankets the mid-hills in spring and lends its deep red to the flag's crimson field.

Nepal's public holidays are not fixed in the constitution. Instead, the Government of Nepal, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, issues an official list of public holidays each year and publishes it in the Nepal Gazette. Because most festivals follow lunar and luni-solar calendars, the Gregorian (and even Bikram Sambat) dates of the major festival holidays shift from year to year, which is why the gazette is reissued annually.

The list blends civic anniversaries with religious and cultural festivals drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Kirat and other communities, reflecting Nepal's diversity. The framework also provides for additional holidays restricted to particular groups — for example, certain days granted specifically to women employees — and for some holidays observed only in the Kathmandu Valley or by specific communities, alongside the standard weekly Saturday holiday.

A core set of holidays commemorates milestones in Nepal's modern political history. These civic days have fixed Bikram Sambat dates and mark the country's transitions from autocracy and monarchy toward democracy and a federal republic.

The longest and most widely observed holidays are religious and cultural festivals. Dashain (the multi-day autumn festival) and Tihar (the festival of lights) are the largest, each spanning several gazetted days. Chhath, especially in the Terai, and a range of Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and community observances complete the calendar.

Because these festivals follow lunar or luni-solar reckonings, their exact dates are confirmed only in the annual gazette. The set below lists the principal recurring festival holidays; the precise day each year is fixed by the Ministry of Home Affairs notification.