Live Your Best Lives
Due to its vast territory, spectacular landscape, rich resources, and religious beliefs, Tibetan festivals differ significantly from those in the Central Plains. Tibet boasts many unique traditional Tibetan festivals, and these culturally rich festivals always captivate people.
So many people will come to ask, if we can catch a certain festival in Tibet when we go there this time?
So what are the traditional festivals in Tibet? When are they held? What activities are worth seeing?
This guide will summarize and organize it for you. If you like it, remember to like and collect it!
Tips:
The times mentioned in the guide are all Tibetan calendar times. You can open the Tibetan calendar and Gregorian calendar comparison table to find out the festival times.
Festival activities: making Seka, performing "Chema", hanging new prayer flags, exorcising ghosts, eating "Gutu", circumambulating the mountain to worship Buddha, horse racing, etc.
Festival time: from the first to the third day of the Tibetan lunar month
Tibetan New Year is a traditional festival of the Tibetan people. It starts on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and lasts for fifteen days. There are generally three times between the Tibetan New Year and the Lunar New Year: the same day, one day apart, and one month apart.
Experts calculated based on the "Tibetan Astronomical and Meteorological Calendar" that the 2020 Spring Festival is January 25 and the Tibetan New Year is February 24, a full month apart!
The first day of the Tibetan calendar is a time of celebration for Tibetans. Tibetans begin welcoming the new day of the year long beforehand, dressing up in their finery and visiting temples for worship. Grand dances are held on the plateau from morning till night.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the streets and alleys are bustling with visits to relatives and friends, with the sounds of "Losar (New Year) Tashi Delek!" everywhere. The third day of the Lunar New Year is dominated by religious and cultural activities. Pilgrimage routes and rooftops are filled with incense smoke, and young people hang colorful prayer flags on rooftops and mountaintops to pray for blessings and ward off disasters. Tibetan New Year celebrations continue until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Festival activities: Sunbathing the Buddha statue at Drepung Monastery, visiting Norbulingka, and watching Tibetan opera
Festival time: June 30th to July 1st of the Tibetan calendar
The Shoton Festival originated in the middle of the 11th century A.D. Shoton means "yogurt feast" in Tibetan, so the Shoton Festival is interpreted as a festival for drinking yogurt.
According to the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the period from the 15th day of the sixth lunar month to the 30th day of the seventh lunar month is a forbidden period. Lamas from all temples are forbidden to go out to avoid stepping on insects. They can only leave the mountains after the 30th day of the seventh lunar month. When the lamas leave, farmers and herdsmen offer them yogurt, which has become the Shoton Festival.
The Shoton Festival is one of the most lively festivals in Lhasa, as the Lhasa International Marathon will be held on the same day.
The most eye-catching ceremony of the festival is the unveiling of the Buddha statue at Drepung Monastery. At 8 a.m., atop the hillside behind the monastery, accompanied by the solemn and reverent sound of Buddhist horns, a massive, 500-square-meter statue of Sakyamuni, woven from multicolored silk, slowly reveals its peaceful face. Tens of thousands of believers and deeply moved tourists clasp their hands in worship.
The center of the Shoton Festival in Lhasa is Norbulingka, located in the western suburbs of Lhasa. When the festival arrives, a vibrant tent city suddenly appears in the Norbulingka and surrounding woods, forming several bustling festive streets. Everyone enjoys a wild life amidst song and dance. Deep, passionate songs accompanied by unique highland instruments drift through the shadows of the trees. This is the most vibrant time for the people of Lhasa.
The Shoton Festival is now also known as the "Tibetan Opera Festival". The content of the activities has gradually evolved into mainly Tibetan opera performances. This festival is not only held in Lhasa, but also in Shigatse where it is called "Semu Qinbo". It is held later than in Lhasa and is smaller in scale.
Festival activities: making and displaying butter lamps
Festival time: October 25th of the Tibetan calendar
People often say: “Only during the Lantern Festival does Lhasa become the real Lhasa.”
The Lantern Festival is not a festive occasion, but a solemn, pious day of remembrance and remembrance. It is held to commemorate the death of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug school of Buddhism and a reformer of Buddhism.
A few days before the Lantern Festival, Tibetan Buddhists begin making butter lamps! On the day of the Lantern Festival, butter lamps are placed in temples and monasteries throughout Tibet, around monks' quarters, on the roofs and steps of Buddhist temples, in the Buddhist halls and windowsills of Tibetan homes—anywhere that can be lit!
In Lhasa, at 8 p.m. on the evening of the Lantern Festival, the Jokhang Temple is packed. The sounds of horns, conch shells, and golden suonas fill the air, while monks beat dharma drums. The deep, lingering chanting echoes from far and near, reaching deep into people's hearts.
Festival activities: washing hair, bathing, washing Tibetan quilts, Tibetan clothes, etc.
Festival time: Held from the 6th to the 12th day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar, lasting 7 days
The Bathing Festival is a traditional festival with distinctive characteristics of the Tibetan people. The Bathing Festival is called "Gama Riji" in Tibetan.
Every year in early July of the Tibetan calendar, there is a mass bathing activity in Tibet, along the banks of the Lhasa River, from cities to villages, from pastoral areas to agricultural areas.
Legend has it that the water illuminated by the stars at this time is purest and possesses special powers, even more potent than holy water. Bathing in the river water can cure all ailments, ensuring year-round health and good fortune.
During the Bathing Festival, Tibetan men, women, and children, bringing tents, mats, and various foods, descend upon the river, devoutly bathing their entire bodies in the hope of warding off illness and promoting health and longevity.
During the seven-day festival, people not only take a bath and wash their hair, but also wash their Tibetan clothes, quilts and mats at home.
Festival activities: carrying scriptures around the fields, horse racing, archery, and cultural performances
Festival time: There is no fixed date. It is usually held two or three days after the barley matures and before the harvest. The festival lasts from one to three days.
The Ongko Festival is a traditional Tibetan festival. "Ongko" means "turning the land," and it originates from Bon religion. It originated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River valley and has a history of over a thousand years. It is popular in Shannan, Lhasa, and Shigatse.
Every year, at the end of June or beginning of July in the Tibetan calendar, the harvest season begins. The Wangguo Festival was originally a ritual to worship the gods and pray for a good harvest. Typically, the group would circle the village land, with a Bon shaman leading the group and performing rituals to absorb the earth's energy.
Since the 14th century, the "Wangguo" festival has become a fixed festival for Tibetans, and its content has become increasingly rich and colorful, with the addition of activities such as horse racing, archery, and Tibetan opera.
Nowadays, during the Wangguo Festival, men, women, and children, dressed in new clothes, carry "harvest towers" made of barley and wheat ears, beating gongs and drums, singing, and circling the fields. Similar activities are held in some pastoral areas, in addition to agricultural areas.
Festival activities: Dress up, burn incense, pray, and worship
Festival time: October 15th of the Tibetan calendar
Fairy Festival, also known as "Tianmu Festival", is a traditional folk festival in Tibet, called "Bai Lai Ri Zhui" in Tibetan.
This day can be regarded as the grandest festival for women in Lhasa. Women dress up and go to the statue of Bai Lazam Tianmu to burn incense and pray.
Another privilege is to ask men for gifts or red envelopes, and men are generally generous in giving them money to show their respect for festival customs. Children, on the other hand, ask their parents for pocket money early in the morning.
Every year on the morning of the 15th day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar, starting from 5 a.m., Tibetan believers from all over the country hold khatas and barley wine in their hands and pay homage to the statues of the guardian deities, Tianmu and Songtsen Gampo, placed in the courtyard of the outer courtyard of the Jokhang Temple, to joyfully welcome the annual "Fairy Festival".
All the monks in the Jokhang Temple held a grand routine annual sacrifice and a regular ceremony to offer the Mandala, and placed the statue of the Goddess of Baila Zhamo facing towards Chiphudi on the south bank of the Lhasa River. Chiphudi also placed the statue of Zongzan facing north, indicating a meeting between the two.
Festive activities: Dress up, wild feasts
Festival time: May 1st to 15th of the Tibetan calendar
Linka Festival is called "Zimulingjisang" in Tibetan, which means "World Joy Day". It is a traditional entertainment day for Tibetan people in Lhasa, Shigatse, Chamdo and other areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The Lingka Festival is mainly for families and friends, and the content is mostly eating, drinking, playing, singing and dancing. Sometimes there will be group art performances and art troupe performances.
The fifteenth day is what the Tibetans call "Zanglingjisang", or "World Incense Day", when they honor various spirits.
Every May, on the auspicious fifteenth day of the first quarter moon, a grand incense-burning and sacrificial ceremony is held. This day is also the climax of the Lingka Festival. On this day, people dress in their best clothes and bring butter tea, barley wine, and various delicious foods to Lingka for a picnic.
Festival activities: turning prayer wheels, giving alms, and chanting Buddha's name
Festival time: from the first to the 30th day of the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar. The 15th day of the fourth month is the peak of the Saga Dawa Festival.
Saga Dawa Festival, also known as the Buddha's Auspicious Day, is held at the Dragon King Pond behind the Potala Palace.
The 15th day of the fourth month in the Tibetan calendar is the anniversary of the birth and passing of Sakyamuni. On this day, Tibetans dress in their best attire, chant prayers, and give alms.
On the morning of the fifteenth day, pilgrims first offer khatas and light lamps to the Buddhas at the Jokhang Temple. They then follow the customary circumambulation route. At noon, they reach Dragon King Pond, where they enjoy boating, singing, and drinking. After their pilgrimage, they continue on their journey to complete any unfinished circumambulations.
On this day, the one-kilometer-long Dejinan Road is filled with beggars from all over the place who come to beg for alms. Giving alms on that day is a traditional custom of the Tibetan people in Lhasa.
Festival activities: chanting scriptures, displaying Buddha statues and paying homage
Festival time: from the 14th to the 16th day of the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar every year, for three days
Every year in the fifth month of the Tibetan calendar, monks and lay people in Shigatse hold the Great Buddha Viewing Festival at Tashilhunpo Monastery. Founded in 1468 by Gendon Zhuba, a disciple of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Sect, it is actually a religious activity for the Tibetan people to chant scriptures, summon and pray for rain.
During the festival, the worship festival lasts for 3 days, and different Buddha statues are displayed every day for believers to worship and admire.
On the first day, the statue of Mahāmīr is hung, on the second day, the statue of Sakyamuni is hung, and on the third day, the statue of Maitreya is hung. The statues are hung at 10 a.m. every day and taken down at 12 p.m.
During the Buddha exhibition, monks and lay people from all over the country gathered in front of the Tashilhunpo Monastery to worship the Buddha and enjoy themselves for three days. Merchants from all over the country also gathered here, and the whole city of Shigatse was extremely lively.
Festival activities: "Shaman Dance"
Festival time: December 29th of the Tibetan calendar
The Potala Palace God Dance Festival is popular in Lhasa, Tibet. It is held on the 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar every year. On that day, the Potala Palace in Lhasa and the Mulu Temple in Lhasa respectively perform "god dance to exorcise ghosts" activities.
The one in the Potala Palace is called "Dancing God in the Palace", and the one in the Mulu Temple is called "Dancing God in the Mulu Temple". The dancing god festival means bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new year.
The God Dance Festival of the Potala Palace is usually held in front of the Rennei Gonsa Hall. Before the dance, scriptures are chanted and animal sacrifice ceremonies are held, but no animals are actually killed. Usually, only utensils or patterns on the ground are used instead.
Festival activities: horse racing, archery, equestrian performances, etc.
Festival time: Held in the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar every year, lasting from five to fifteen days
There are many horse racing festivals in Tibet. The Northern Tibet Horse Racing Festival, called "Daqiong" in Tibetan, is also called "Yaji" because it is held in summer. It is a grand traditional festival in the northern Tibetan grasslands, so it is also called the "grassland festival."
In the days before the festival, herders from all over northern Tibet, dressed in colorful festival costumes, brought food such as highland barley wine and yogurt, brought tents and mats, and rode horses, and flocked to the competition venue from all directions.
In addition to horse racing, archery and various equestrian performances, the Northern Tibet Horse Racing Festival now also includes weightlifting, tug-of-war, cultural performances, film screenings, and folk artists singing and reciting the "Epic of King Gesar". A large-scale logistics conference is also held.
Festival activities: Weisang ceremony
Time: May 15th of the Tibetan calendar
The Weisang Festival, also known as World Incense Burning Day, is a religious activity unique to the Tibetan area. On this day, there will be mulberry smoke wherever there are people. It is a major annual celebration for ancient Tibetan tribes.
Fire-burning festival is a very common religious and folk activity in Tibetan areas. Due to its own unique environmental factors, different places have formed Fire-burning festivals of different scales and times.
Festival activity: making butter sculptures
Festival time: the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the Tibetan calendar (not far from the Lantern Festival in the lunar calendar)
It is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the Tibetan calendar. People light many butter lamps, build lighthouses and lamp stands, and use butter sculptures to make different human figures, flowers, birds and animals for viewing. At night, Barkhor Street and the area around Jokhang Temple are filled with Tibetan lanterns.
Festival activities: Debate
Festival time: from the fourth to the twenty-fifth day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar
The Grand Dharma Assembly is the largest religious festival in Tibet. During this period, nearly 20,000 monks from the three major monasteries in Tibet gather at the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa to pray to the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, debate scriptures, and hold examinations for the Geshe degree. Buddhist believers from Tibet and other places also come to pay homage to the Buddha and make donations.
