| Date | Shrawan 1 (first day of Shrawan month, approximately July 17) |
| Duration | One-day festival |
| Observance | Regional (Karnali and Western Nepal) |
| Celebrated in | Jumla, Karnali region, and mountain communities of western Nepal |
| Observing Communities | Khas communities, mountain dwellers of western Nepal |
| Type of Event | Seasonal Health Protection Festival |
| Purpose of Event | To protect families and communities from monsoon-related skin diseases (especially scabies) through ritual fire ceremonies performed at the onset of the Shrawan monsoon season. |
| Holiday Status | Not an official public holiday in Nepal |
| First Observed in | Ancient times (traditional health practice rooted in Khas cultural heritage) |
Quick Fact: "Luto" refers to a skin condition similar to scabies or mange that becomes particularly prevalent during the humid monsoon season in mountain communities. The ritual fires lit on Shrawan 1 are believed to purify the air and prevent this disease. Each fire lit corresponds to a family member, symbolically burning away the illness before it can affect them throughout the monsoon months.
Luto Falne Din (literally "Day of Casting Off Luto") is a traditional Nepali festival celebrated on the first day of Shrawan month, particularly among the Khas communities and mountain dwellers of the Jumla and Karnali region in western Nepal. This distinctive festival marks the onset of the monsoon season with protective fire rituals designed to ward off skin diseases and purify households at the beginning of the long rainy season.
Luto Falne Din is rooted in the traditional health practices and agricultural customs of western Nepal's mountain communities, where monsoon conditions historically created significant health challenges. "Luto" refers to a monsoon-season skin condition (similar to scabies) that was common in mountain communities due to the high humidity and moisture of the rainy season. Historically, communities developed this ritual as a proactive spiritual and practical measure—a way of invoking divine protection against the health challenges that the monsoon season would bring. The fire ritual, which involves lighting separate flames for each family member and burning specific purifying herbs, blends practical fumigation knowledge with spiritual protective practice. This festival demonstrates the sophisticated integration of traditional ecological knowledge with folk spiritual practice that characterizes Nepal's diverse regional heritage.
This festival is observed to:
Protect family members from monsoon-related skin diseases through ritual fire purification.
Perform spiritual cleansing of homes and communities at the critical beginning of the Shrawan month.
Invoke divine protection for family health throughout the challenging monsoon season ahead.
Maintain community health and solidarity through shared ceremonial practices.
This festival is celebrated through:
Lighting ritual fires corresponding in number to each member of the family or household.
Burning specific medicinal and purifying herbs and materials in the ceremonial fire.
Making ceremonial wishes for health, protection, and well-being of family members.
Community gatherings and participatory ritual celebrations specific to the Karnali tradition.
Traditional songs, music, and celebrations that mark the seasonal transition into monsoon.
This festival is significant because:
It represents a practical health consciousness embedded within traditional spiritual ritual practice.
It demonstrates the sophisticated integration of traditional ecological health knowledge with folk spiritual wisdom.
It preserves the unique regional cultural traditions of Nepal's western mountain communities.
It marks an important seasonal transition acknowledged through community ritual and celebration.
It maintains community solidarity through collective ceremonial practices at the onset of monsoon.
Luto Falne Din is a beautiful example of how traditional communities developed creative, spiritually meaningful responses to the real health challenges of seasonal change. In lighting protective fires at the threshold of Shrawan, mountain communities of western Nepal continue an ancient practice that weaves together care for family health, reverence for natural cycles, and the unifying power of communal ritual.