Tibetan Songs and Dancing
Tibet has the name of “The Ocean of Singing and Dancing”. Tibetans are fond of sing and dance. During festivals, you can see the elders, youth and even small children singing and dancing wherever you go. Farmers sing songs while working and circle to dance when the harvest season comes. People in the pastoral areas are always holding campfire parties. The singing and dancing can last the whole day and night. If the weather is good, people usually bring their family members outside during holidays, to drink barley beer, sing and dance from morning to night. Singing and dancing is not only performance on the stage but also a kind of hobby and interest of the common people. Dancing is everywhere and everyone can dance in Tibet.

Tibetan New Year (25th Feb, 2009) (1st of 1st month of Tibetan Calendar)
The Tibetan calendar comes from 1027.A.D. The first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar became New Year’s Day. This is the most grand and important festival in Tibet. It holds the same importance as the Spring Festival in the inner land of china.

Saga Dawa Festival (7th Jun 2009) (15th of 4th month of Tibetan Calendar)
This is the most sacred day to celebrate Sakyamuni’s birthday, completion of enlightenment and parinirvara. Buddhist followers go to Lhasa to rotate the prayer wheel.
Gyangtse Horserace & Archery (20th July 2009)Horse race and archer are generally popular in Tibet, and Gyangtse enjoys prestige of being the earliest in history by starting in 1408. Contests in early times included horserace, archery, and Shooting on gallop followed by a few days' entertainment or picnicking. Presently, ball games, track and field events, folk songs and dances, barter trade are in addition to the above.

Summer Mask (Cham) Dances at Tsurpu Monastery (2ed Jun 2009) (10th of 4th month of the Calendar)
In Tsurpu monastery Tsurpu dance is being held to commemorate the Padmasambhava’s birthday. And on the 11th June on the following day a large “Koku” banner of the Buddha Sakyamuni is displayed at the opposite of Tsurpu monastery.

Buddha-Unfolding Festival (6th--8th July 2009) (14th–16th of 5th Month of Tibetan Calendar)
The Buddha-unfolding Festival at Tashi Lhunpo monastery was created by the first Dalai Lama, Gendun Drupa about 500 years ago.

Immense silk appliqué Koku banners of Tusum Sangye, “the Buddhas of the Three Times”: (Opame, Shakyamuni and Gyelwa Jampa) are displayed on three consecutive days at Tashi Lhunpo. Cham dancing may be held in the monastery’s lower courtyard. The festival lasts for three days. Different portraits of Buddha are exhibited each day. They are hand-embroidered on silk or satin. The Buddha-unfolding Festival is an important religious activity at Tashi Lhunpo monastery for scripture chanting, prayer for rain and also a joyous festival for masses in rear Tibet.

Samye Dode Dance (17th July 2009) (15th of 5th month of Tibetan Calendar)
Samye monastery dance is being held to commemorate the Padmasambhava, because Samye monastery was build by Padmasambhava. If you could visit during this occasion, it is said that one’s misdeeds will be eliminated.

The Zamling Chisang (17th July 2009) (15th of 5th month of Tibetan Calendar}
In Tibetan, is called “Zamling Chisang” which means “Universal Incense Offering Day”. Its common name is “the suburbs of Lhasa from the 15th day to the 20th day of fifth month of the Tibetan calendar. The festival originated from one of the four major offerings, which were first made by Muni Puzan of the Tubo Kingdom. He reigned from 797—798 A.D. So the festival is also called “World Worship Buddha Day”. It says that every god will descend to the world and assemble together. People burn incense to pay their homage to the gods. The 15th of 5th month is the beginning of the festival. It is called “Khatujin” in Shigatse district. The other areas in Tibet also have such festival. During the festival, Tibetans dress up and carry butter tea, “Tsampa” and various delicious foods to parks. They have picnics and enjoy songs and dances there.

Ganden Thangka Festival: (5th Aug 2009) (15th day of 6th Month of Tibetan Calendar)
The huge “Koku” is displayed for only a half day in the morning on a hill of Ganden Monastery.
Paying Homage to the Holy Mountains Festival (25th July 2009) (4th of 6th month of Tibetan Calendar)

This festival is called “Truk-Pa-Tse-Shi” which means “the Fourth Day of the Sixth Month”. It is also called “Holy Mountains Festival”. It is the festival to celebrate the day of “Buddha Shakyamuni’s First Teaching” First Sermon and turn the Dharma wheel. On this day, people with food go to monasteries and temples to pay their homage to Buddha, to offer Joss sticks and to circumambulate holy mountains. Then they have picnics, relax, and enjoy themselves. They sing and dance in the fields. They do not go home until the sun has set.

Shoton Festival(20th Aug 2009) (30th of 6th month of Tibetan Calendar)
Shoton means yogurt banquet. So it is also called Tibetan Opera Festival. During the Shoton Festival, teams of Tibetan opera and theatrical troupes would come to Norbulingka to present performances for 4days and ordinary people would come there for picnicking. The scene is very lively and interesting.

The Giant Buddha “Koku” is displayed for only a half day in the morning on a hill beside Drepung monastery. This marks the start of Shoton. Festival; after the Thangka comes down, the first opera dances are performed in the main courtyard. Sera monastery now displays a “Koku” as well, starting about the same time.

Nagchu Horse Race Festival (1th–about 7or 10th of Aug 2009) It is the most important festival in Northern Tibet during the golden season on the grassland. Thousands of herdsmen throng to Nagchu riding fine horses and carrying the local products. They form a city of tents South of Nagchu town. There will be thrilling horse race, archery and demonstrations of horsemanship. Songs and dance troupes from all parts of Tibet will add to the fun.

Harvest Festival (mostly in end Aug or sep ) (in 7th month of Tibetan Calendar)
“Wongkor” is the transliteration of the Tibetan word, which means “Looking around the Fields”. Its common name is, “Wongkor Festival”.

The Wongkor Festival is popular in Tibet, Ganshu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan where Tibetan farmers live. The festival has no fixed date. It is usually celebrated when crops are ripe, and it lasts three to five days. The Wongkor Festival has a history more than 1,500 years long. In former times, people celebrated the festival before “the Birds’ King” –the wild goose went south. Now days, Tibetans in Lhasa have combined the Wongkor Festival with the Army’s Day. However, Tibetans celebrated the festival at the middle of the seventh month in Gyangtse and Shigatse. After the festival, people start the intense autumn harvest.

In former times the Wongkor Festival was concerned with religion. During the festival, people walked around in the fields with scriptures and it is same now days, as well. Now it has gradually become a festival mainly concerned with arts, sports and entertainments. When people in the Lhasa area celebrate the festival, they dress up, hold colorful flags and ears of barley carry a “harvest tower” built with barley stalks and ears of barley. They sing and dance, beat drums and gongs and walk around the fields. On this day, people also enjoy horseracing, archery, opera, singing and dancing and sumptuous picnics. In the evening, people light up campfires and sing and dance all night long.
Bathing Festival (Chapshuk) Legend says that when Venus appears in the sky, bathing in rivers may cure illness, so Tibetans take baths in rivers for health and longevity.

Drepung Naga Stupa Day: (28th of Aug 2009) (8th of 7th month of Tibetan Calendar)
On this day most of the Tibetan go to Drepung monastery to see the Naga Stupa, which is a holy stupa in Drepung monastery.

Tashi Lhunpo Dance: (21st of Sep 2009) (3rd of 8th month of Tibetan Calendar) Cham Dances at Tashi Lhunpo monastery for 4days.
The Gods Descending Festival is called “Lhabap Tuichen” in Tibetan. It is one of the major Tibetan Buddhist Festivals. The legend tells that the 22nd day of the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar was the day when the 33year old Buddha Shakyamuni preached a sermon to his mother in Tushita Heaven and then descended to the world. This day every monastery is open for the whole day. In monasteries, all butter lamps are alight and Buddhists pay their homage to the Buddha and offer Joss sticks and chant scriptures to gain merit and accumulate virtue for future luck and happiness.

Kungbu Traditional Festival (17th of NOV 2009) (1st day of 10th month of Tibetan Calendar)
Long ago, when Tibet was in danger of large-scale invasion, the Kongpo people sent out an army to defend their homeland. It was in September and the soldiers worried that they might miss the New Year, highland barley wine and other good things. So people had the Tibetan New Year on the 1st of October ahead of time. To memorize those brave soldiers Kongpo people present three sacrifices stay up at night from then on. And now it has become the Kongpo Festival for entertainment like Kongpo dancing, horse race, archery and shooting.

The Fairy Maiden Festival (2ed DEC 2009) (15th of 10th Month of Tibetan Calendar)
The Fairy Maiden Festival is called “Paile Retoi” in Tibetan, which means “Pal-lhamo Parade Festival”. Every 15th day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar, monks carry the statue of the Fairy Maiden in the Fairy Maiden chapel of the Jokhang Temple and parade around Lhasa. It is said that the maiden will meet her husband “Drip Zongzan” on that day. So when Monks parade around the southern suburbs of Lhasa, they turn to south and look at Drip Zongzan from the other side of the river. This ceremony used to be presided over by the abbot of the Ganden Monastery. During the festival, there are various activities to do with gods descending. Nowdays it is celebrated by offering local Chang and alcohols to Pal-lhamo in Jokhang Temple. Lhasa women begs for money to men for buying hard drinks or Chang, so women are more active and they think of the festival as a holiday for Tibetan women.

Shim-Choe: (10th Dec 2009) (24th of 10th month of Tibetan Calendar) Jampa Chenpo passed away on this day.
Tsong Khapa’s Festival (11th Dec 2009) (25th of 10th month of Tibetan Calendar)
In Tibetan Tsong Khapa’s Festival is called “Ganden Ngamcho”. The 25th day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar is the anniversary of the death of Tsong Khapa, the founder of Gelukpa sec. On this night of the day, countless butter lamps are lit on the roofs of every monastery and lay person’s house in order to commemorate Tsong Khapa. It is a religious service with illumanation, and this is observed in every house.

Banishing the Evil Spirits Festival (23rd Feb 2009) (29th of 12th month of Tibetan Calendar)
This festival is called “Gu-duo” in Tibetan. The grand sorcerer’s dance is held in the Potala Palace on the 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar. Monasteries in other places will hold similar activities, too. Monks with masks imitate demons and spirits singing and dancing and walk around the Jokhang Temple; these activities are not being held now days. But at every family they fire shots and shout, to bid farewell to the outgoing year and to welcome the coming year and in the evening, each family eats “Gu-thuk” together. In Tibetan “Gu-thuk”, means 9 items in “Thukpa”. People light lamps, burn joss sticks and fire crackers. The whole town is bright and it is very lively.