Dashain celebrations in Iceland

The small Nepali community in Iceland celebrated the Dashain festival by exchanging greetings, Nepali food and dance. This is the first time in Iceland that such a festival was organized.

The Nepalese Association of Iceland, a recently formed group, worked hard to bring all Nepalese living in Iceland together. It is estimated that around 100 Nepalese are living and working in Iceland.

At the program guests were welcomed with Dashain Tika and Jamara. “This is just a start. We hope to celebrate all kinds of festivals of Nepal in Iceland,” said Kusu Gurung, spokesperson of the newly formed Association.

The programme included cultural events including Nepali folk dance, songs and some comedy.

“Gatherings like this always bring our culture and people together. Especially away from home, such festivals provide the occasion to be relieved from the busy schedule of life and enable opportunity to share greetings and best wishes,” said Anil Thapa who is based in Iceland and leads the Nordic High Performance Computing for Scientific Research for four Nordic Countries.

A tiny country with a population of just around 324,000, the per capita income of Iceland stood at US$ 32,710 in 2010, according to The World Bank. Fishing, metal and information technology are major areas of economic activities for its people.

The temperature in the capital, Rekjyavik, drops down to -17 degree Celsius in the winter while it is much colder in the countryside. Most of the Nepalese in the Iceland work in rafting industry during the summer and in the factories in the winter. nepalnews.com