Children play in the mud in a paddy field during Asar Pandra, or paddy planting day at Bahunbesi, Nuwakot District, 30 miles North from Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP)
Children play in the mud in a paddy field during Asar Pandra, or paddy planting day at Bahunbesi, Nuwakot District, 30 miles North from Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP)
Children play in the mud in a paddy field during Asar Pandra, or paddy planting day at Bahunbesi, Nuwakot District, 30 miles North from Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP)
Children play in the mud in a paddy field during Asar Pandra, or paddy planting day at Bahunbesi, Nuwakot District, 30 miles North from Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, June 30, 2023. (AP)

An annual paddy festival across Nepal has been celebrated by thousands of families across the Asian country, splashing in the muddy fields and enjoying a special feast.

Visitors from the cities and tourists visiting the Himalayan nation joined the celebrations.

Millions of Nepalese depend on rice as a main grain, which is typically sown once a year in July and harvested four months later.

Farmers and their families sang traditional songs to welcome the rain that is necessary for the rice to thrive.

They first planted rows of rice, then swam around in the muddy fields, covered one another in mud, and sand, then danced some more until the celebration came to an end with a feast.

The day is also known as “dahi chiura” for the yogurt and beaten rice that includes one of the main dishes eaten during the feast.

In other parts of the nation, individuals celebrated the day at home by eating yogurt and puffed rice together with mangoes and bananas.

It is worth noting that the government has declared National Paddy Day a holiday and attempted to urge people to continue or return to farming rice, as many increasingly look to take up other jobs.