Nepal rich in custom, culture, tradition and religion has different festivals celebrated through out the year with different names. As different festivals are celebrated in different time of the year, the feasts generally contain varieties of dishes according to the season and festivals.

One of the most important and spectacular festivals that is celebrated in Patan takes place in April or early May when the massive chariot of Rato Machhendranath is pulled through the narrow streets of Patan to circled the historic city. Lord Machhendranath is taken as the patriot deity of the valley and is worshipped and revered as Karunamaya- the Bodhisattva of compassion by the Buddhist and Shiva to the Hindus. The celebrations continues with the chariot for several weeks, starting from Pulchowk and stopping in Gabahal, Hakha, Sundhara, Lagankhel, where it rests for more than 4 days and finally reaching Jawalakhel. The chariot rests in Jawalakhel for four days, ending with a public display of a jewelled vest of the Lord Machhendranath, an event marked by the royal visit. Every twelve years the chariot proceeds from Jawalakhel to Bungamati, the home of Lord Machhendranath for 6 months of the year.

This day is celebrated to mark the birthday of the Lord Buddha which dates back in about 543 BC. It falls on Jestha Purnima (Full moon night-April/May). Patan has a large population of Buddhists that is evident by the existence of more than 200 bahals and bahis (Buddhist monasteries) scattered around the city. This has seen to Patan celebrating, rather on a very grand scale, the birth celebration of Buddha, the initiator of Buddhism. It is equally celebrated by the Hindus and marks as excellent example of religious tolerance in whole of the Valley and also in the whole World.

Traditionally, our society is dependent on agriculture, which is the main reason that our festivals and feast carry seasonal impact. Among these indigenous and traditional festivals, 'Sithi Nakha' is important one celebrated within the Kathmandu Valley. This festival is celebrated at the end of summer season on the sixth day of lunar fortnight in the month of June to welcome the rainy season. It is widely celebrated by worshipping the ancestral god of one’s clan. The religious ceremony is followed by sumptuous feast.
During the celebration of 'Sithi Nakha', houses, courtyard, side streets, allies are cleaned. Besides, there is a tradition of cleaning stone spouts, dug wells and ponds. There is a religious belief that the traditional water sources such as stone spouts and dug wells if not cleaned on this day, there will be scarcity of water for paddy plantation that starts immediately after this festival. ‘Dhalapa :(canal guarding)' is the system of guarding the canal and it's continuous flow for irrigation, which is generally done by farmers taking turns cleaning the canal, checking the leakage and obstacles for the continuous flow, which still exists in Patan.

Gunla is a sacred month dedicated to Lord Buddha. This festival commemorates the auspicious "rains retreat" when the Buddha, over 2,500 years ago, led his close disciples into solitary meditation and preached to them the essence of his principles. Accordingly, monks and nuns go into retreat during the rainy season. Lay Buddhists also spend the month in prayer and fasting. They visit Swayambhunath and other shrines every day early in the morning. Groups of people can be seen making their way to Swayambhunath in the misty morning accompanied by musical bands with thumping drums carrying small clay figures of the Buddha and stupas. The Gunla Lakhe masked dancer enlivens the festivals with his street performances. A number of religious events are held during this period. Sacred texts (saphu) and ancient scroll paintings (paubha) are brought out for display at monastic courtyards all over the city. The most extraordinary collection of centuries old texts written in gold and silver paint can be seen within the courtyard of Thambahi (Thamel).
The festival of Gunla climaxes on the day of Poncho Daan, the Festival of Five Offerings which is held in Patan, the auspicious ceremony during which offerings are made to monks and household priests. The priests chant prayers as they accept the gifts and shower blessings in return.

This is celebrated on the fifth day of the brightening lunar fortnight late in July or early August. In Hinduism, the Nag (divine serpent) is glorified as the giver of rain. On the day of Nag Panchami, devotees paste pictures of the Nag over their doorways and pay homage. Pilgrims also throng Taudaha (meaning big pond) 6 km to the southwest of Kathmandu. There they worship Karkotak Nag, the serpent-king. Karkotak moved to this dwelling after Lord Manjushree drained the Kathmandu Valley, which used to be a lake in ages past, by slicing a passage through the hills to make it inhabitable. Nagdaha Lake in the south of the Valley is another destination for pilgrims where they offer worship to the serpent-gods.

On this day Hindu men, especially the Brahmans and Chettris perform their annual change of Janai, a yellow cotton string worn across the chest or tied around the wrist of the right hand. This thread is only given to males during a lengthy and impressive religious ceremony called the 'Bratabandhan'. This cord, symbolizing the body, speech and mind initiates them into manhood and commands them to faithfully the follow the religion. This cord must be changed without fail by a Brahman on this day, Janai meaning sacred thread, and purni meaning Purnima or the full moon, thus pointing to the change of the thread on the auspicious full moon day.
On Janai Purnima, there is a big mela (fair) at Kumbeshwor in Patan. Devotees come here to worship Lord Mahadev and to tie a knot around their wrists.

Legend has it that this festival was initiated by King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu, who lost his young son. This grief was unbearable to the queen and the king initiated this festival to show that other people in their kingdom had also lost their loved ones. To lessen the pain of loss of the near and dear ones, the king is said to have added a humorous touch to the whole festival. This humour is seen at the procession attended by scores of people who have lost a loved one or are simply there to have fun in the procession otherwise, in local terms, known as Mata-yaa.

Celebrated in mid-August Mata-yaa is one of Patan's popular festivals. It consists of a day-long procession of devotees going around the Buddhist courtyards of the town and offering worship at the shrines there. Carrying lighted tapers and joss sticks in their hands, Mata-yaa participants rush in a meandering file and visit the hundreds of Buddhist sites scattered all over Patan. They toss rice grains, flowers and coins at the shrines as they pass by. Some devotees wear elaborate and amusing costumes. Musicians also take part in the parade.

Sri Krishna Janmastami marks the celebration of the birth of Lord Sri Krishna. This festival is also known as Krishna Jayanti or Janmashtami. Lord Krishna is regarded as the 8th avatar or 'incarnation' of Vishnu and is one of the most popular deities. On Krishna Janmashtami numerous devotees flock to the ancient Krishna temple in Patan Durbar Square to keep vigil through the glorious night of his birth.
The next day, a procession of Krishna devotees go around Patan town visiting all the Krishna shrines and temples scattered around the city.

Bhimsen, one of the great heroes of Mahabharata, is very popular in Nepal. He is known for his strength and bravery. Mahabharata tells us how he has always pushed himself in front to fight the wicked away and protect the weak. It is said that one of his arms alone had the strength of hundreds of elephants. In paintings and sculptures he is shown lifting a horse in the air and pressing an elephant under his knee while a huge cobra and lion are watching him in awe.
He is also worshipped more as a protector by simple-minded people and as a destroyer of enemies by warriors. Bhimsen is specially worshipped as a god of commerce and trade in Nepalese business community for his strength and bravery. One of the liveliest statues of Bhimsen can be seen in Patan Bhimsen temple at Patan Durbar Square. This gorgeous temple was built by king Shreenivas Malla in the early 18th century A.D. In the evening of Bhimsen jatra, big and small business houses in Patan take out a lavish procession around town starting from this temple and end with a sumptuous feast.

Both Hindus and Buddhists unite to celebrate the festival of Indra Jatra with great enthusiasm. The rain god, Indra is worshipped for a week to thank him for the harvest. This festival is also a celebration of traditional dances and all three towns Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan display their extravagant masked dances. This festival is celebrated for four days in Patan, ending with a special celebrations at Purnachndi temple in Patan.

During the month of Kartik in the Bikram Sambat calendar (late September and early October), the Nepalese people indulge in the biggest festival of the year, Dashain. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated throughout the country. The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon. The other attraction of this festival is the colourful kites flying merrily all over enjoyed by the young and the old.
Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a long struggle slaughtered Ravana, the fiendish king of demons. It is said that lord Ram was successful in the battle only when goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who terrorised the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo. The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was slain and the last five days symbolise the celebration of the victory with the blessing of the goddess. Dashain is celebrated with great rejoice, and goddess Durga is worshiped throughout the kingdom as the divine mother goddess.

Tihar, the festival of lights is one of the most dazzling of all Hindu festivals. Goddess Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth is worshipped in this festival. During the festival all the houses in the city and villages are decorated with lit oil lamps. Thus during the night the entire village or city looks like a sparkling diamond. This festival is celebrated in five days starting from the thirteenth day of the waning moon in October. Tihar is also referred to as 'Panchak Yama' which literally means 'the five days of the underworld lord' and 'yamaraj' is worshipped in different forms in these five days. In other words this festival is meant for life and prosperity.
Crow, the messenger of death is honoured on the first day of tihar. The second day is called 'Kukur tihar', the dogs’ day. According to the legend, the dog guards the Yama's gate, the gate to the underworld. The dog is also the steed of the fearful Bhairab, the god of destruction.The third day, Laxmi puja, is the most important day of the festival. Goddess Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped on this day, along with the cow also symbolizing wealth. In the evening, groups of girls go around houses singing songs of praise of the goddess and they are taken as guests and given gifts.
The fourth day is celebrated differently by different ethnic groups. Some celebrate this day as Goru puja or the day of the ox, while others celebrate it as 'Gobhardan puja' and build a small hill made out of cow dung signifying Gorbardan hill and perform puja. This puja symbolizes lord Krishna lifting the gobhardan hill to save millions of people and cows from floodwater. The Newar community performs 'Mha puja' on this day which literally means worshipping yourself. This day is also celebrated as the start of the Nepal Sambat or New Year of this calendar.
The last day of tihar is 'Bhai tika', the day for brothers and sisters to pray for each others health and long life.

During the month of Kartik, a month-long dance/drama festival used to be held at the open stage in Patan Durbar square. Due to financial and other limitations, this month long festival has been reduced to a week. The series of dance performed during this festival is based on the story by King Siddhinarsingh Malla and started in the 17th century by the king to educate and entertain the citizens. This weeklong festival is very popular with the locals who gather in the square after dinner with snacks such as groundnuts to enjoy the high drama.

Shiva Ratri, literally meaning ‘the night consecrated to Shiva’ is celebrated by paying tribute and homage to the Lord himself. As the name suggests the festival is celebrated more at night with bonfires and sweet cooked over it.

The arrival of Holi, named after the mythical demoness Holika finds men, women and children of all age and from all cast of life doused with scared red powder or other colours. This festival celebrates the arrival of spring with its wonderful colours and good wishes and spread through the colours.