Tibetan people, culture and festivals

Tibetans are very unique and versatile people. Most of them believe in Buddhism and worship and encircle around temples, shrines and other holy places. The Tibetans are well known for their creative arts and crafts like Thangka, murals, sculptures, Tibetan knives, Tibetan carpets, costumes, their own opera, calendar, medicine, language and other unique local cultures and customs. You can make tours around Barkhor Street in Lhasa, where you can buy all sorts of handicrafts produced by Tibetan. The Tibetans are well known for their hospitability. They present Khatag, propose a toast by their festive chang and Yak butter tea and perform their adept singing and dancing to greet the guests. Tibet is home of 2 million Tibetan. It is the land of rich natural resources and ancient cultures, spiritual traditions, temples and monasteries, lakes and rivers, and mighty snow –capped peaks. (Culture in Tibet, Festivals of Tibet, People in Tibet)

The travelers can experience various wonders in Tibet. The history of Tibet goes back to some 1,300 years. Tibetan history, culture and religion are mixed together every aspect of social life. People living in Tibet such as Tibetans, Monpas, Lhopas and Moslems have their own ways of living, marriage, burial and other ceremonies. It is considered that the festivals in Tibet are of a big variety. The Tibetan New Year, the largest festival, is followed by others festivals such as the Wangkor, Festival and horse races. For the dead, sky burials, water burials, cremations and stupa burials are also practiced here. The people inhibiting in Tibet speak Tibetan language. Tibetan is one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Chinese government. The Tibetans generally observe Buddhism. Tibetans are well reputed to be able to survive even in extremes of altitude and cold. They have abilities to face even the extreme environment of the Tibetan plateau.

Tibetans observe various festivals, such as Tibetan new-year, great prayer festival, butter lantern festival, Shoton festival to name a few. The Tibetan new year, is observed in order to farewell to the current year and welcome the brand new year ahead. On the new-year eve Tibetans have a celebration mainly to prevent form the Ghost. On the new-year day, they perform dances in various monasteries. They clean their houses and decorate beautifully, with the belief that the cleaning will drive away evil spirits and bad luck. Similarly, the great prayer festival is celebrated on the first Tibetan month in Lasha. During the festival, the Tibetans debate fiercely on the Buddhist scriptures and hold religious examination which is really great help for learners of the Buddhist scriptures. On the day, many devotees from all over the country will visit the monastery and worship the Buddha.

Likewise, the butter lantern festival is one another important festivals in Tibet, during day, people go to pray in temples and monasteries while at night there is a lantern show in various monasteries. It is really attractive to see that various kinds of lanterns with butter sculptures shaped in the image of deities, animals, plants, and human figures are displayed in the evening. The Shoton festival also means yogurt banquet in Tibetan. It is the marvelous festival of summer. It is believed that in the past, lamas were locked themselves away in their monasteries during this season to devote themselves entirely to Buddhism for a month. When their devotions were over, lamas left the monastery to receive donations from the locals, that time, people gave them yogurt and later on they had yogurt banquets with them and made performances to welcome them.