Top 4 Festivals To Enjoy In Tibet

Visitors to Tibet are greeted with both a very unique culture as well as a unique environment. This is a place where you will really feel as if you are in another planet. Here in this post we will talk about some of the top festivals to explore during your Tibet tours.

Tibetan New Year (Losar)

Tibetan New Year is by far the most important festival in Tibet. Like the Chinese New Year, it is an occasion for the family reunions and many prayer activities. Tibetan New Year is known as Losar (which means “new year”). Losar Festival starts from the first to third day of the first month of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. The Festival start date is a day in either February or March in Gregorian Calendar (Tibetan Calendar is very similar to Chinese Calendar and the Chinese New Year and Tibetan New Year dates are quite near if not on the same day).

Saga Dawa Festival

Saga Dawa Festival falls on the 15th day of the fourth month of Tibetan Calendar. This day is believed to be the day Gautama Buddha was born; stepped into Buddhahood and died (parinirvana). Although the month itself is Saga Dawa (this month is called“month of merits”), the 15th day is the most holly as is full moon. All month is dedicated for making merits which include pilgrimages to sacred places, practicing dana (giving) especially giving donations to temples or to individual monks and nuns. They will also give donations to poor people and beggars.On the 15th day, Tibetan people also do not consume meat and you will see Tibetan’s eating only vegetarian food.

Shoton Festival

Shoton Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals in Tibet. It is held annually in the month of August, or late in the sixth month or early in the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar. The festival is also known as Yoghurt Festival, and it has its root in the 17th century when pilgrims served yoghurt to the monks who stopped for their summer retreat. Later, local opera performances were added to the event to amuse monks in monasteries.

Butter Lamp Festival

Butter Lamp Festival (Chunga Choepa) falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar. The festival is setup to commemorate the victory of Shakyamuni Buddha against heretics in a religious debate over 2,500 years ago in India. During this delicious-sounding festival, thousands of butter lamps (lamps made of butter) are lighted and butter sculptures of Buddhas or animals, flowers and birds are displayed.

Whether you want to plan a Tiber tour or bhutan tours make sure you have selected a reliable tour service. This way you can make the most of your journey.