Tihar
Tihar (तिहार) is a five-day Nepalese festival celebrated in late autumn, which comes soon after Dashain. One of these days incorporates the Hindu festival Deepavali Although all ethnic groups celebrate it, the Newars in particular celebrate it in a certain way.
The festival is celebrated from Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna to Katrik Shukla Dwitiya every year.The name Tiharmeans the festival of lights, explaining the many candles lighted.The five day festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like crow, cow and dog, who maintain an intense relationship with the humans.

Kag Puja
The first day of the festival is called Kag Puja or Kag Parva - Worship of Crows. The crows are worshipped by offerings of sweets and dishes. The cawing of the crows symbolises sadness and grief in the Hindu mythology, so the devotees offer the crows food to avert grief and deaths in their homes.

Kukur Puja
The second day is called Kukur Puja or Khicha Puja by the Newars - Worship of Dogs. Dog, which is believed to be messenger of Lord Yamaraj, the god of death, is worshipped once a year on this day. People offer garland, teeka and delicious food to the animal, and acknowledge the cherished relationship between humans and the oldest ever tamed animal.
This day is also observed as Narak Chaturdashi.

Gai Puja and Laxmi Puja
On the morning of the third day is Gai Puja - Worship of Cows, Cow is considered to be the surrogated mother of the human as per the Hindu myths, so they worship her with tika, garlands and fruits on the day.
In the evening Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped. This day is called Laxmi Puja.The goddess is believed to enter the brightest house and give her blessings, making the family healthy and prosperous.

Gobardhan Puja and Maha Puja
On the fourth day of Tihar, there are three different known pujas. Most perform Goru Puja, or Worship of Oxen. People who follow Krishna perform Gobardhan Puja, which is worship towards Cowdung. Cowdung is seen as very useful in Nepal, as in the olden days it was used for everything from light at night (Methane) to polish for the mud floors of traditional houses. The Newar community on the night of this day do Maha Puja, or Worship of Self. Because this period is also the beginning of Nepal Sambat, or the new year of Nepalese especially commemorated by Newars, it ensures prosperity for the new year.
The third and fourth day of Tihar is especially famous for DEUSI AND BHAILO, light and fireworks. Deusi and Bhailo are the songs which have only been sung on those Tihar days. Social workers, young and children visit local homes by singing those songs, and in return the homeowners give them money, fruit, rice and bread (Selroti, a special type of bread made by rice flour and sugar).The Deusi is mostly sung by the boys while the Bhailo is sung by the girls.

Bhai Tika
The fifth and last day of Tihar is Bhai Tika, a day where sisters put "Tika" on forehead of brothers, to ensure long life, and thank them for the protection they give.When the sisters give the "Tika", the brothers give gifts or money as a return. A special garland is made for the brothers out of a flower that wilts after a couple of months, symbolizing the sister's prayer of her brother's long life.

Vasant Panchami
Vasant Panchami (Devnagari:बसन्त पञ्चमी), sometimes referred to as Basant Panchami or Shree Panchami (Devnagari:श्रीपञ्चमी), is a Hindu festival celebrating Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and art. It is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the Indian month Magh (January-February), the first day of spring. Traditionally during this festival children are taught to write their first words; brahmins are fed; ancestor worship (Pitr-tarpan) is performed; the god of love Kamadeva is worshipped; and most educational institutions organise special prayer for Saraswati. The color yellow also plays an important role in this festival, in that people usually wear yellow garments, Saraswati is worshipped dressed in yellow, and yellow sweets are consumed within the families.
Also known as Saraswati Puja (Bengali: সরস্বতী পূজা shoroshshôti puja), this festival is celebrated in Nepal, India and Bangladesh to invoke wisdom and consciousness in human beings. Apart from wisdom, Saraswati is also the deity for fine and performing arts. The day is also called Basant Panchami which falls in Falgun (Phalgun in Hindi) month of Bangla calendar; that is February of the Gregorian calendar. In West Bengal saraswati puja is celebrated in Hindu households and also in schools and colleges. Bengali men are usually dressed in traditional paijama and punjabi. Women are dressed in yellow (basanti) coloured sari. With Her grace, the mute, it is believed, have been able to speak and people have been blessed with the ability to write or compose poems. Musicians sing here and many even choose to perform here first. Instrumentalists have puja performed for their instruments here. Apart from art and culture, Goddess Saraswati also showers Her blessings for the education of children.
Notebooks, pencils and pens are kept at the Devi's feet for blessings and then used by the students. A noticeboard asks the students to write their names, address and the roll number on a piece of paper and put it in the hundi after praying for success! It is believed the Goddess blesses them for good and positive results.

Her expression is so serene and calm even as She is majestic. She is seated on a white lotus in Padmasana, adorned by a pure white silk sari, has a book in Her lower left hand, Her lower right hand showing the chinmudra, Aksharamala in Her right upper hand, and Amrithakalasam in Her left upper hand. Both eyes are full of compassion. The vehicle assigned to each of the three goddesses also symbolically represent their special powers. Goddess Saraswathi is the consort of Lord Brahma (Lord of Creation) and is the Goddess of wisdom and learning. Saraswati is the one who gives the essence (sara) of our own self (swa). She is considered as the personification of all knowledge - arts, sciences, crafts and other skills. She has a beautiful and elegant presence, is pure white in colour, clad in a white sari, seated on a white lotus, representing purity and brilliance. She has four hands representing four aspects of human personality in learning; mind, intellect, alertness and ego. She has the sacred scriptures in one hand and a lotus (a symbol of true knowledge) in the second. With her other two hands she plays the music of love and life on the veena.

She is dressed in white (sign of purity) and rides on a white goose (swan). The swan is known for its pecliar characteristic of being capable of separating water from milk, indicating that we should possess discrimination in separating the bad from the good. The seat being a lotus or peacock implies that the teacher is well-established in the subjective experience of truth. When sitting on a peacock she reminds us that wisdom suppresses ego.

Like Brahma, she is not worshipped much in temples. However, every year Saraswathi Pooja (Navarathiri ) is celebrated by people all over India, be it students, workers, craftsmen, businessmen offering their prayers for a successful and fruitful year. However, Saraswathi does have a temple in Koothanur in Tanjavur district (Tamil Nadu).There is an important Saraswati Temple in Basar at a distance of 40 km from Nizamabad in Adilabad District, Andhra Pradesh on the banks of Godavari River. There is also a small but very old temple in Hasanpur and a relatively new one in Bakhri Bazar, Bihar.