Tibetans are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan, as well as in Bhutan, the India, and Nepal.
Onam is an annual harvest and Hindu cultural festival celebrated mostly by the people of Kerala. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events.
Losar also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location tradition. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, the new year commenced on 10 February and celebrations ran until the 12th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Wood Dragon.
Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local influences, and stimulated the development of its distinct culture.
Naga Panchami is a day of traditional worship of nagas or snakes observed by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists throughout India & Nepal, and other countries where Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist adherents live. The worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of lunar month of Shravana (July/August), according to the Hindu calendar. Some Indian states, such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat, celebrate Naga Panchami on the dark half of the same month. As part of the festivities, a Naga or serpent deity made of silver, stone, wood, or a painting is given a reverential bath with milk and their blessings are sought for the welfare of the family. Live snakes, especially cobras, are also worshipped on this day, especially with offerings of milk and generally with the assistance of a snake charmer.
Butter tea, also known as Bho jha, cha süma and Su Chya in the Sherpa language, is a drink of the people in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, East Turkestan, Tibet and western regions of modern-day China and Central Asia. Traditionally, it is made from tea leaves, yak butter, water, and salt, although butter made from cow's milk is increasingly used, given its wider availability and lower cost.
This is a list of holidays and festivals celebrated within the Buddhist tradition.
Gyalpo (རྒྱལ་པོ) is a term in Tibetic languages that is translated as "king" in English.
Public holidays in Bhutan consist of both national holidays and local festivals or tshechus. While national holidays are observed throughout Bhutan, tsechus are only observed in their areas. Bhutan uses its own calendar, a variant of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. Because it is a lunisolar calendar, dates of some national holidays and most tshechus change from year to year. For example, the new year, Losar, generally falls between February and March.
Guthuk is a stew soup in Sherpa or Tibetan cuisine, made with various ingredients like beans, vegetables, meat, or left over harvested grains. It is eaten two days before Losar, the Bot or Tibetan New Year and is a variation on thukpa bhatuk. The Tibetan religious ceremony Gutor (དགུ་གཏོར), literally meaning 'offering of the 29th', is held on the 29th of the 12th Bot or Tibetan month, and is focused on driving out all negativity, including evil spirits and misfortunes of the past year, and starting the new year in a peaceful and auspicious way. It is made with barley and other ingredients.
Thukpa bhatuk is a common Tibetan cuisine noodle soup that includes small bhatsa noodles. This dish is a common soup made in the winter but is especially important for Tibetan New Year. On Nyi-Shu-Gu, the eve of Losar, the common Tibetan soup, thukpa bhatuk is made with special ingredients to form guthuk. Guthuk is then eaten on Losar to symbolise getting rid of negativities of the past year and invite positives into the new year.
Galdan Namchot is a festival celebrated in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and many regions of Himalaya, particularly in Ladakh, India. It is to commemorate the birth as well as parinirvana (death) and the Buddhahood of Je Tsongkhapa, a famous Scholar/teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Galdan Namchot also marks the beginning of the new year celebrations in Ladakh.
Losoong marks the end of harvest season, of the Bhutia tribe, celebrated every year in December.
Sonam Lhosar is a New Year's day festival of the Tamang and Hyolmo people of Nepal as well as Sikkim and Darjeeling regions of India. It falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice which is usually the Magh Sukla Pratipada based on the eastern lunar calendar.
Tamu Lhosar is a new year festival of Gurung people of Nepal. It is celebrated on every 15th Poush (December/January) of the Nepali calendar. Similar to other Lhosars, the Gurung people also represents the years with a cycle of 12 years representing various creatures.
The culture of Ladakh refers to the traditional customs, belief systems, and political systems that are followed by Ladakhi people in India. The languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs of the Ladakh region are similar to neighboring Tibet. Ladakhi is the traditional language of Ladakh. The popular dances in Ladakh include the khatok chenmo, cham, etc. The people of Ladakh also celebrate several festivals throughout the year, some of the most famous are Hemis Tsechu and Losar.
Mayfung is a New Year festival celebrated on the 21 December by the Balti people in the Baltistan region of Pakistan. It is held to commemorate the end of the longest night of the year and the start of the Balti New Year. Mayfung is traditionally celebrated in Baltistan but also in some parts of Gilgit, Chitral and Tibet in China.
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