Tibet Festival – Saga Dawa Festival

Saga Dawa Festival, also called Auspicious Day is on April 15th according to Tibetan calendar. It is a traditional festival of Tibetan Buddhism which would be celebrated with various religious activities in the whole month of April.

Saga Dawa Festival is a holy festival for the followers of Tibetan Buddhism. It has close relationship with the founder of Tibetan Buddhism – Sakyamuni. He was born and passed away on April 15th according to Tibetan calendar. Various celebrations would be held in the Tibetan Buddhism monasteries.

Folk Customs of Saga Dawa Festival

Tibetans would make a circumambulation around the holy mountains so as to celebrate Saga Dawa Festival. There are three circumambulations in Lhasa, among which the Outer Ring – the circumambulation road around the old Lhasa city attracts most Tibetans.

Groups of circumambulators would start the circumambulation on the first day of Saga Dawa Festival. The number of circumambulators would reach the peak on April 15th according to Tibetan calendar. All the Tibetans would put on their best clothes and chant the Buddhism scriptures with a prayer wheel in hand.

There is another traditional folk custom on Saga Dawa – the beggars from various regions of Tibet would collect at South Deji Road in Lhasa for begging. Alms giving on Saga Dawa have become a tradition for the Tibetans in Lhasa. Tourists planning a Tibet festival tour during Saga Dawa Festival could witness the magnificent scene.

Taboos of Saga Dawa Festival

It is impolite to clap your palms and spit behind the Tibetan people.

Don't touch Tibetans head.

Don't touch the religious instruments in the monasteries.

No smoking in monasteries and don't touch the statue of Buddha and religious articles and take pictures of them.

The prayer wheels should be turned clockwise. Besides, all people in the monastery should walk clockwise.

Destruction of life is the largest taboo of Tibetans. They do eat red meat, but they don't kill them personally. Besides, Tibetans don't take horse, dog and donkey meat as their food and some of them even don't eat fish.