In Photos: Farmers in Nepal celebrate the annual paddy planting festival

Thousands of farmers and their families across Nepal celebrated the annual paddy festival by planting rice on Monday (Source: Photo by AP)

They were joined by villagers, visitors from cities and tourists visiting the Himalayan nation (Source: Photo by AP)

Celebrated as National Paddy Day, or Asar Pandra, the 15th day of the Nepali month of Ashadh (late June), Nepal's Paddy Festival signifies the start of the annual rice-planting season (Source: Photo by AP)

Rice is a staple food for millions of Nepalese and the crop is generally planted once a year in July and harvested about four months later (Source: Photo by AP)

The theme for National Paddy Day 2026 is "Climate Friendly Technology, Self-Reliance in Paddy, and Prosperity" (Source: Photo by AP)

After planting lines of rice, they splashed in the muddy fields, smeared each other with mud and sand, and danced more before culminating the celebration with a feast (Source: Photo by AP)

The day is also known as “dahi chiura” for the yogurt and beaten rice that comprises one of the main dishes eaten during the feast (Source: Photo by AP)

The government has declared National Paddy Day a public holiday and has encouraged people to continue or return to rice farming (Source: Photo by AP)