Festivals of Tibet
FESTIVALS OF TIBET
Tibetan New Year: Tibetan New Year, known as Losar, is the most important Buddhist Festival which is celebrated by Tibetans as New Year. It is mainly celebrated over a period of 3 days in late January or February, according to the Tibetan calendar. However, during Tibetan New Year period, Tibet is not open to foreign travelers.
The Monlam Prayer Festival: The Monlam prayer festival is actually almost a two week event. The festival starts on the fourth day of the Tibetan calendar and ends of the fifteenth day that is the day called the Butter Lamp Festival (Choe-nga Choepa) that is the greatest and last day of the Monlam Festival. So one long festival season that lasts for fifteen days starts on the 1st day of the Tibetan year that is the Tibetan New Year Festival called Losar and ends on the 15th day on the night of the full moon called the Butter Lamp Festival. During the Monlam Festival, Buddhists pray and commemorate the miracles Buddha did about 2,500 years ago in India.
Tibetan Butter Lamp Festival: The Butter Lamp Festival falls on the night of the full moon. It is the greatest day of the Tibetan New Year holiday that starts with the New Year Losar Festival on the first day of the month, continues with the Monlam Festival period and ends with the Butter Lamp Festival. The festival involves lighting butter lamps and displaying butter sculptures in order to commemorate Buddha’s great debating victor over his opponents about 2500 years ago. People go to the temples, and displays of sculptures made of colored butter of Buddhas or animals, flowers and birds. At night, thousands of butter lamps represent the light of Buddhism. It is very interesting sight especially at Barkhor Street in Lhasa. The Street is turned into a grand exhibition site for Tormas sculpted from butter.
Saga Dawa Festival: The festival honors the life of Buddha. It is believe that when Buddha was dying, he instructed one of his followers not to honor him with flowers, incense and lights but to follow his teaching about living a noble life and being kind and compassionate. He urged people to remember that all compound objects like the human body must eventually disintegrate. The main activities of the festival involve going to temples, raising a tall prayer pole called the Tarboche Prayer Flag pole and lighting a lot of butter lamps for the occasion. Tibetan Buddhists go to monasteries and temples to pray during the Saga Dawa Festival. Tibetan gathers to pray in front of Potala Palace. For many, the Saga Dawa festival marks the beginning of a holy month.
Gyantse Horse Race Festival: The horse racing contest, archery contests as well as wrestling contest take place at the town of Gyantse during the month of July. Tibetan Opera, music and dancing, track and field and ball games are the attractions during this festivals. The town of Gyantse is situated in a valley between High Mountains and compared to the rest of Tibet, more of the traditional way of life continues here. Watching the festivals and competitions may be an enjoyable highlight of a trip to Tibet.
Zamling Chisang: The festival is celebrated on 15th day of the 5th month of Tibetan calendar. Zamling Chisang means Universal Prayer Day celebrate Guru Rinpoche’s subjugation of the local deities and the founding of the Samye Monastery. The Samye Monastery was a temple that Guru Rinpoche presided over and that the first emperor of the Tibetan Empire founded. It is interesting to watch people burn sang (incense powder) and remember the founding of this tradition of Buddhism in Tibet.
Ganden Thangka Festival: The festival is an important festival at the Old Ganden Monastery. Thousands of people circle the monastery ruins, pray and get blessed. They walk outside to get view of big and vividly woven Thangka which is displaced on the hill. It is a major highlight of many Tibetan Buddhists. Ganden Monastery is about 36 KM northeast of the Potala Palace. People reach the place before the sunrise to participate in the festival. People climb up the hill to watch the dawn. Most of the complex has been rebuilt. People wander from one temple to another one with yak butter offerings. The smell of burning yak butter lamp smoke and yak butter offerings is amazingly strong and powerful. People elaborately decorate their animals who are scattered around the monastery. Thousands of people are scattered all over the mountain. People try to get close to the Thangka where it is displayed. Young monks march out blaring horns, their drums beats and yellow crested figures continue the historic celebration for the New Year. The older monks in their red and yellow robes take in the center stage. The crowds pray and spin their prayer wheels. They wait to see the new Thangka unveiled. As the presiding monks pray, hug tapestry of hand woven cloth is raised and covers the big wall. People pray more vigorously when they see the Thangka with different symbols and then Buddha’s giant figure. The Thangka is usually about 200 feet wide and 150 feet tall. The old monks bless the Thangka with yak oil and prayers.
Tibet Shoton Festival: The Shoton festival is celebrated eating yogurt, the Tibetan monks who end their season of meditation, the watching of Tibetan dramatic operas and Tibetan Buddhism. The festival is celebrated in the month of August every year. It is a great occasion for both Tibetans and tourists. It has become a comprehensive celebration that influences the culture of Tibet. Being the liveliest festival during the most beautiful season, the festival starts with the dramatic unveiling of the 500 square meter embroidered Thangka portrait of Buddha at Drepung Monastery and then moves to Sera Monastery then down to the Norbulinka for performance of ethnic songs, dances and Tibetan opera.