Tibet Festival Calendar - Tibet Festivals

There are numerous Tibetan festivals on Tibet Plateau. There is at least one Tibetan festival each month according to the Tibetan calendar. Tourists both at home and abroad could experience the local festal atmosphere while enjoying the picturesque natural landscapes in Tibet. Different traditions and customs would be presented among the celebration of different Tibet festivals. Tibet Tour would like to provide a Tibet festival calendar for tourists' reference.

Tibet Festival Calendar – Tibet Festivals in January

The number of Tibet festivals in January according to Tibetan calendar ranks first all around the year. Every corner in Tibet is emerged in the happy festal atmosphere in January. Tibetan New Year is the most solemn Tibet festival on the Tibet festival calendar. It would be celebrated with various local style activities and performances. Tourists making a Tibet tour during this period would have the chance to witness the most boisterous Tibet.

The Great Prayer Festival is quite close to the Tibetan New Year. Large scale worshipping activities would be held for the celebration of the festival since January 3rd according to the Tibetan calendar. It is one of the unalloyed religious festivals closely related to the Tibetan Buddhism on the Tibet festival calendar. The celebration would last from January 3rd to January 25th according to Tibetan calendar. After the celebration of the Great Prayer Festival, Butter Sculpture Festival would be celebrated. Numerous and various butter lanterns would be the main symbol of this festival. The local archery competition and evil-dispelling ceremonies would be held between January 14th and January 26th.

Tibet Festival Calendar – Tibet Festival in April and May

The noted Saga Dawa Festival would be celebrated on April 15th according to Tibetan calendar. It is said to the birthday of the founder of Tibetan Buddhism – Sakyamuni, and also the arrival day of Princess Wencheng of Chinese Tang Dynasty. Large scale pilgrimage and worshiping activities would be held in various regions in Tibet. Dama Festival, which plays important role in the Tibet festival calendar of local Tibetans in Tsang Area of Tibet, would be celebrated from April 18th according to Tibetan calendar. Dama means horse racing and archery competition in Tibetan. The celebration of this festival would last about one week.

Linka Festival would be celebrated on May 15th according to Tibetan calendar. Local Tibetans would burn incenses to worship Master Padmasambhava who subdued the evils in Tibet in May. They would also make special food and share them with their family members and friends in the gardens while enjoying the nature.