Tibet Festivals
Join one festive event during your visit in Tibet and it will surely add more to your memory of the snowland. Tibetans offer prayers in the Tibetan New Year Tibetans offer prayers in the Tibetan New Year Tibetan New Year is the most important festival in Tibet. It is an occasion when Tibetan families reunite and expect that the coming year will be a better one. Known as Losar, the festival starts from the first to the third day of the first Tibetan month. Preparations for the festive event are manifested by special offerings to family shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and other painstaking jobs done to prepare for the event. Tibetans eat Guthuk (barley crumb food with filling) on New Year's Eve with their families. Eating Guthuk is fun since the barley crumbs are stuffed with a different filling to fool someone in the family. The Festival of Banishing Evil Sprits is observed after dinner. Signs that the New Year is approaching when one sees lit torches, and people running and yelling to get rid of evil spirits from their houses. Before dawn on New Year's Day, housewives get their first buckets of water for their homes and prepare breakfast. After breakfast, people dress up to go to monasteries and offer their prayers. People visit their neighborhoods and exchange their Tashi Delek blessings in the first two days. Feast is the theme during the occasion. On the third day, old prayer flags are replaced with new ones. Other folk activities may be held in some areas to celebrate the events.
Tibetan new year: Losar is celebrated in homes and with friends, eating special food and drinking jugs of barley chang. On the first day pilgrims go to pay homage to the most sacred statue of Sakya Muni in Jokhang temple and burning incense all around Jokhang as well as at all Tibetan homes. Every one dresses in his/her finest closthes to do holy circuit around monasteries and temples.
Great prayer ( Mon Lam Chenmo ) Was founded in in 1409 by Tsong Khapa to celebrate the miracles performed by Buddha at Sravasti in India, Molam is greatest religious event of the year. In the former times over 10 thousand monks from Drepung, Sera and Ganden monasteries would come to gather in Jokhang temple for the event. This festivel still continues in large nos of monks in Labrang and Rongwo Gon Chen monasteries in Amdo although this festivel in Lhasa is held in Jokhang temple in fewer nos of monk.
Saga Dawa: Celebrating the enlightenment of Buddha and his attainment of Nirvana upon his death. Tens of thousands of Tibetan pilgrims crowd to do the sacred circuit around Jokhang and old Lhasa city known as Linkor.
Tashilunpo Thangka: The huge Gegu ( embroidered thangka ) displayed in Tashilunpo monastery in Shigatse and thousands of pilgrims flock there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed.
Universal incense offering ( Dzam Ling Chipsang ) Commemoration of Guru Rimpoche subduing the obstructive deities and spirits in Tibet and converting them to protectors of Buddhism, in preparation for the founding of Samye, The very first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Tibetans burn incense offerings to these deities all over Tibet.
Yogurt festival(Shorton): The huge Gegu ( embroidered thangka ) displayed in Drepung monastery in Lhasa and thousands of pilgrims go there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed. This Yogurt festivals operas also begins there in the monastery courtyard. Tibetans flock in Norbulinka ( the summer palace of the Dalai Lama ) to start their summer picnic.
Yogurt festival Opera at Norbulingka: A week long summer picnic is held at Norbulinka ( Summer palace ) by Tibetans and the picnic is accompanied by a historical and interesting Tibetan opera for the first 3days. Summer palace fills with the melody of happiness.
Labrang monastic opera ( Cham ): Monks at Labrang monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. Thousands of Tibetans flock there for the special ceremony the miracle festival.
Labrang monastic opera ( Summer ): Duration Monks at Labrang monastery perform the ritual dances by wearing Buddhist masks. This perform telling the story of Milarepa who get enlightenment.
Labrang monastic opera ( Winter ): Monks at Labrang monastery perform Kalarewa dance, this perform also has thousand of Tibetans from all over and celabrat the special ceremony.
Horse racing festival at Labrang Sangke grassland: This is a special ceremony held by the nomads of Sangke including mainly horse race, Yak race and wrestling. Kangding Horse Racing Festival: This is a special ceremony held by the nomads of Kangding of Kham-region including mainly horse race, Yak race and wrestling.
Lithang horse racing festival: The Tibetan area of Kham in West-Sichuan is comprised of Garze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture and this area features snowy mountains. Here also plants of various shapes and colors and numerous wild animals exist.
