In Nepal, Father’s Day (Buwa Ko Mukh Herne Din) is celebrated on the no moon day of the lunar dark fortnight in Bhadra, (August or September every year).
On Father’s Day, sons and daughters visit their fathers with sweets and gifts to celebrate the day. There will be a big family gathering at the parent’s house for the celebration. Each one of the children takes a turn to offer a plateful of sweets to the father, pray to God for the father’s wellness and in returns takes blessing from father. Thereafter, everyone together sings a song for father, dances and enjoys a feast.
It is believed that the souls of deceased fathers come to Gokarna to accept the offerings made by their sons and daughters on this day. Hence, on the father’s day, people from across the country, whose father had passed away, visit Gokarneshwore Mahadev Temple at Gokarna to take a holy bath in the nearby river, worship Lord Shiva and make offerings in the name of their deceased fathers. Also, some sons, depending on their religious beliefs, perform memorial rituals called ‘Sradha’ in the name of the deceased fathers. Likewise, daughters also take a holy bath in the nearby river, worship and then make offerings to Lord Gokarnesvore, however they do not perform Sradha.
Those whose father had passed away and could not visit Gokarneshwore Mahadev Temple at Gokarna takes bath for purification and offer a plateful of sweets to Brahmin priests or Vajracharya priests depending on their faith. People believes that when the priests accept the offerings (Daan), it reaches the souls of their deceased fathers.
