Tibet Festivals

Tibet, inhabited by a group of devout Tibetan Buddhism believers, is a mysterious holy plateau appeal to many travelers where you can easily find breathtaking highland sceneries as well as the unique ethnic group with their distinctive culture. Tibetan people celebrate a number of traditional festivals, during the time pilgrims often flock to Tibet where takes on strong party atmosphere with colorful activities and interesting things. If it is possible, try to plan your Tibet tours with one of these festivals, and it will be one of your most memorable experiences in your life.

Below is a table list of the major traditional Tibetan festivals for your reference, and the ones in bold and blue are the most important known to people. Just keep in mind that the dates of all listed festivals are Tibetan calendar, which lags approximately four to six weeks behind solar calendar, for instance, the Tibetan January often falls in solar February, while the Tibetan May should be solar June or early July.

Date (Tibetan Calendar)	Festival	Location	Activities & Practice
1^st-15^th, January	Tibetan New Year (Losar)	Tibet, Jokhang Monastery	Two-week-long celebrations with drama and carnivals, horse races and archery; family reunite, eat guthuk, expel evil spirits, make chema.
4^th-25^th, January	Monlam Prayer Festival	Jokhang Monastery	Also the Great Prayer Festival, a tradition begun by Tsong Khapa. Many pilgrims gather at Jokhang in Lhasa, chanting prayers and performing religious rituals.
15^th, January	Chunga Choepa (Butter Lamp Festival)	Jokhang Monastery, Barkhor Street	Commemorates Buddha's miracle at Sravasti. A similar Lantern Festival to Han Nationality; monks and folk artists make butter sculptures in diversified patterns and color, and put them on lamp holders in Barkhor Street.
7^th, April	Pilgrim Festival		Important month for pilgrims- the birth of Buddha Sakyamuni.
15^th, April	Saka Dawa	Lhasa, Jokhang Monastery, Dragon King Pond Square	Celebrates the birth and Enlightenment of Sakyamuni and his entry to Nirvana. Worshippers flock to Jokhang in Lhasa to pray. Outdoor operas and release captured animals.
5^th, May	Incense Festival		On this day ghosts are said to prowl. Tibetans dress up and party to drive away the spirits.
14^th-16^th, May	Buddha Unfolding Festival (Hanging of the Thangka)	Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse	A tradition lasted for 500 years, giant Thangkas of Amitayus, Sakyamuni and Maitreya are displayed on the Thangka Wall successively in Tashilhunpo Monastery; pilgrims flock to the monastery to pay offerings and accumulate their merits.
4^th, June	Choekhor Duechcen Festival	Monasteries and holy mountains	Also known as Paying Homage to Holy Mountain Festival, the feast is to commemorate Sakyamuni's first sermon; pilgrims go to monasteries to pay homage to the Buddha, and circumambulate around holy mountains.
1^st – 7^th, July	Sho Dun Festival	Lhasa, Drepung Monastery, Norbulingka, Sera Monastery	Literally Yoghurt Festiva, worship of the Buddha, picnics and Tibetan operas in the park of Norbulingka, bonfires at night.
6^th-12^th, July	Washing Festival	Lhasa rivers	Lasts about a week. Tibetans believe the waters of Lhasa rivers are the holiest during this period when Venus appears in the sky. They bring food and set up tents along rivers. They wash themselves and their clothes in the river and believe the holy water can cure any sickness and get rid of misfortune.
July & August	Golden Star Festival		To wash away sins, such as passion, greed, jealousy and to abandon ego. Ritual bathing in rivers takes place and picnics are held.
1^st, August	Nakchu Horse Racing Festival	Nakchu	People dress up, flock to Nakchu to create a colorful tent city. Exciting horse racing, archery, horsemanship, weightlifting, tug-of-war, and commodity fairs. Recreational activities are Tibetan circle dance, Tibetan cards, bonfire party and opera of Gesar.
At the beginning of August	Dajyur Festival	Southern Tibet, Gyantse	Last about 10 days, contests such as horse racing, bicycle riding, and rock-carrying.
End of July or beginning of August	Ongkar (Bumper Harvest) Festival	Surrounding farmlands	Occurs 2-3 days before the harvest in the riverine areas, it is celebrated annually by Tibetan farmers who walking around farmlands to pray for harvest of crops. Activities include singing and dancing, Tibetan opera, contests of horse racing, archery, stone holding and wrestling.
22^nd, September	Buddha's descent	Jokhang Monastery, Ramoche Monastery, Potala Palace	To commemorate Buddha's descent from heaven after preaching to his mother. All monasteries are opened and pilgrims gather to pray for good harvest and happiness.
25^th, October	Tsong Khapa Butter Lamp Festival		To memorize the passing away of Tsong Khapa, a great Buddhist and religious reformer of Geluk– myriads of butter lamp are lit on roofs, religious rites in monasteries.
1^st-7^th, December	New Year Festival	Shigatse	New Year Festival in Shigatse.
29^th, December	Banishing Evil Spirits	Tibet	"Devil Dance" to drive out all evil from the Old Year to prepare for New Year.

Tibet Festivals

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