Nepal's harvest festival begins with preparation of delicacies

With the preparation of Yomari, a steaming hot delicacy shaped like a fig, filled with molasses and sesame seeds, Nepal's Newa Community marks the start of rice-harvesting session in the country from the day of the full moon of Paush.

The harvest festival marked with fanfare by Newa community of Kathmandu Valley get its name from Yomari, the fresh-harvest rice sweetmeat prepared on the full moon of Paush- the 9th month according to Lunar Calendar.

Newa Community worships Annapurna, the Goddess of Grains, for rice harvest on this full moon day.

As per various beliefs, Suchandra and Krita, a married couple, first experimented with a fresh yield of rice from their field at present-day Panauti City in ancient times.

The couple then distributed new delicacy to the villagers which was liked by all and it was named Yomari, which in Newa: Language means "tasty bread." In Newa community, there is a tradition of sending Yomari cakes as gifts to pregnant women as there is the belief that it gives supreme knowledge and sound mental health to the baby in the womb.