Gurung community across the nation is celebrating the yearly festival Tamu Lhosar on Friday.

The Gurungs celebrate the Lhosar festival on the 15th of the Nepali month Poush every year marking their New Year.

People from Gurung community visit Buddhist shrines including Bouddha, Kapan, Swoyambhu and receive blessings from their elders and exchange greetings to their friends, relatives and well-wishers today.

There is a traditional belief that night gets shorter and day gets longer from today.

The government has declared national holiday to mark the Lhosar festival.

Various programmes including rallies, sports, and traditional dances, among others, have been oragnised in the Capital to mark the day.

PM Dahal's greetings on Lhosar

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has extended best wishes to all Tamu sisters and brothers living in the country and abroad on the occasion of the Tamu Lhosar festival today. He wished health, happiness, peace and prosperity to the entire people of Tamu community.

Giving a message of best wishes, he said Nepal is rich in cultural diversity and promoting it with harmony and unity. The Tamu Lhosar has its own originality, tradition, and cultural values, he added.

"It is time to ensure the broader acceptability of the constitution and keep intact the national unity by maintaining harmonious relations among all ethnic, lingual and religious groups from the mountain, hills and the southern plains," the PM said, urging all to unite further for national unity and constitution implementation.

On the same occasion, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba wished good health, longevity and prosperity to all Tamu people.

He wished that the festival inspired all to protect and promote the festivals, which are the cultural assets of the country with unity in diversity.

Moreover, senior leader of the Nepali Congress, Ram Chandra Poudel, wished the festival inspired all for consensus and cooperation for building prosperous country with the effective implementation of the constitution.

President Bhandari's greetings on Tamu Lhosar

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has wished prosperity, good health, peace, happiness and longevity to all Nepalis including from the Tamu community living home and abroad on the occasion of the Tamu Lhosar today.

In a message given on the occasion of the Tamu Lhosar festival, President Bhandari said, "It is our common responsibility to maintain national unity, harmony and tolerance by maintaining unity in diversity and preserving and promoting cultures."

"May this festival bring happiness and enthusiasm to the communities including Tamu, contribute to the conservation and promotion of art, culture and tradition of the country and help drive the country towards prosperity and development by maintaining unity and harmony," the message read.

Likewise, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun wished health, prosperity and happiness to all Tamu Nepalis living in the country and abroad on the same occasion.