1. The Tibetan New Year (starting on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar)
The Tibetan New Year began more than nine hundred and fifty years ago, in the year of the Dinmao of the Lunar Calendar (1027 A.D.). The Tibetan New Year is a festive custom, equivalent to the Chinese New Year.
Every year, it begins on the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar and lasts from three to five days. At the beginning of December on the Tibetan calendar, people begin to prepare for the New Year, and families soak barley seeds in water basins to cultivate seedlings. In the Tibetan calendar year, its food customs and habits, although eating different things, but over the habits with the Han Chinese is the same, such as the New Year's Eve or 29, eat New Year's Eve dinner, out of the night, people get together again, each family to eat dough Tuba (Gutu). The first day of the year to wish a new year of good luck, respectively, and then worship. On the second day of the year to return gifts to each other, and wear new clothes.
Tibetan New Year, in the square or on the open grass, everyone in a circle to dance potshuang dance, string dance, in the six-stringed zither, cymbals, gongs and other musical instruments under the accompaniment, hand in hand, person by person, stepping on the ground for the festival, singing and, the children set off firecrackers, the whole region immersed in joy, celebrations, peaceful atmosphere of the festival. In the towns and villages, Tibetan opera is sung, and potshoos and string dances are performed. In pastoral areas, herdsmen light bonfires and sing and dance all night long. Folk also engage in jousting, throwing, tug-of-war, horse racing, archery and other activities.
2, on the ninth festival (the ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar)
Popular in the area of Baoxing County. It is held on the ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar every year. On this day, people gather to the bottom of the mountain, organized lanterns and performances such as lion dance, dancing and singing. At night, held a unique male and female wrestling, the result is often male defeat female victory, causing laughter, will be the climax of the holiday activities.
3, Xie Shui Festival (the sixth day of the third month of the lunar calendar)
Popular in the Coronation County area. It is held on the sixth day of the third month of the lunar calendar every year. Its main content is to seek rain and pray for children. On this day, the lama with tsampa made of frogs, snakes and toads, each family with one or two people. Came to the side of the ditch, the lama while chanting while the tsampa made animals into the water. When they returned, everyone was playing with rain gear and yelling, indicating that the rain had fallen. Next, people go to honor a round pagoda. Inside the pagoda is a knife and a small gong pot, representing fertility. Women who have been married for a long time without children make a wish to the pagoda god for a child. If a woman has a child after honoring the pagoda, she goes to the pagoda on that day to return the wish.
4, turn the mountain will (lunar calendar April 8)
Tibetan traditional festival, also known as the festival of Mu Buddha, to the mountain god. Popular in Ganzi, Aba Tibetan areas. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar birth, there are nine dragons leaf water for its bath, so it is also known as Mu Buddha Festival. Every year on this day, Ganzi Tibetan area near and far the masses dressed in national costume, gathered to run on the mountain and folding more river. People first go to the temple to burn incense and pray, burn paper money. Then they turn to the mountain and offer sacrifices to the gods, praying for the blessing of the gods. After turning to the mountain, they set up tents for picnic and perform Tibetan opera. Singing folk songs, dancing potshuang dance, string dance, riders also horseback archery competition. During this period, people also hold material exchange activities and other cultural and sports activities.
5, Baima song will be (before and after the Qingming Festival)
Festival customs for the Baima Tibetans. Popular in Pingwu County, held every year before and after the Qingming Festival. Baima Tibetans can sing and dance, traditional cultural activities held during the Chinese New Year in the Han area. With the development of the economy and the introduction of new culture, they developed the desire to create their own festival. The relevant departments of the situation, in 1982 held the first cottage song will be held. Since then it has been customary to hold it once a year.
6, Rinka Festival (Tibetan May 1 or so)
Tibetan language, "Zimulin Jisang", meaning "World Joy Day". Some people also call it the "suburb feast". Is the Tibet Autonomous Region Lhasa, Rikaze, Chamdo and other areas of the Tibetan people's traditional entertainment day. Every year around the first day of May in the Tibetan calendar, the festival period is uncertain, some places up to more than ten days. At that time, the Tibetan people old and young, with food, barley wine, butter tea, card pad, tent, and a variety of recreational equipment and musical instruments, to the elegant and quiet LinKa (Tibetan translation, meaning gardens, gardens, which are planted with willows, so the folk to visit LinKa called "play willow LinZi"). On the lawn, under the ancient trees set up a white tent, surrounded by a few sheets or plastic sheeting, laying card cushions, while playing the six-stringed zither, while drinking butter tea or barley wine, gathering wild feast. Some play poker, some play chess, playing krone ball or chatting and laughing, there are in the green grass singing and dancing. In addition, during the festival, some religious ceremonies and Qianma, archery and other cultural and sports activities.
7, Caihua Festival (the fifth day of the fifth month)
Nanping County, Boyu around the Tibetan traditional festival. Held annually on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the festival period of two days. Legend has it that a long time ago, Boyu was a deserted mountain valley where people made a living by collecting and hunting, and made clothes from leaves and animal skins. One day, from afar came a girl called Lianzhi, she is beautiful and kind, dexterous, taught the local people to open up the land and planting and weaving sewing, but also pick the lily for people to cure. One year, on the fifth day of May, Lianzhi went up the mountain to pick flowers and was swept down the cliff by the nickel wind and died. People were so sad that they went up the mountain to pick flowers on that day to honor her. Over time, the Flower Picking Festival was formed.
8, Flower Festival (Lunar June)
Also known as the flower festival, popular in the Malcolm area. It is held in the sixth month of the lunar calendar every year, and the time is usually 3-5 days, and in some places up to more than 10 days. People bring food, tents, riding horses, groups of people to the field to play and enjoy the mountain flowers. They set up tents, boiled ghee tea, filled with green pear wine, while eating and drinking, while enjoying the flowers, while blessing. At night, lit a bonfire, singing and dancing. During the festival, but also held wrestling, horse racing and other activities. It is also an opportunity for young men and women to talk about love.
9, Huanglong Temple Fair (June 15)
Huanglong Temple Fair is Aba Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, Han and other nationalities of the traditional festival. Every year on the 15th day of the sixth month of the summer calendar in Songpan County Huanglong Temple held. Located in Aba Prefecture Songpan County Minshan southern foothills in the thicket of Huanglong Temple, it backs up to the elevation of more than 5700 meters Minshan main peak Xuebao Xiang, because of the top of the mountain on the clear springs with calcium soaring down the mountain, paved with a milky yellow, like a yellow dragon soaring down the natural wonders, inlaid with more than 3,400 large and small colorful, they are interconnected, multicolor interplay. Later generations built temples to attract neighboring provinces, states and counties to worship the faithful, and gradually formed folk festivals.
Every year, from the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, tourists from all over the world, or on horseback, by car or on foot, with cooking utensils, tents to travel here. Rally, people not only want to enjoy the scenery of Huanglong Temple, and held a Tibetan opera performances, folk songs; young strong men, but also wrestling, archery and other activities. June 15 is the climax of the festival, Huanglong Temple and the surrounding hillside forest lined with a variety of specialties, forming a grand exchange of materials. Old people into the temple to burn incense, praying for a lifetime of peace. Young people sing and dance all night long.
10, the flower festival (lunar June 18)
Tibetan language called "if the wood bird", is to see the meaning of the mountain, held every year on the 18th day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar, is generally based on the villages, together with the tents under the play, each time the activities, as few as three or four days, more than ten days. Over the flower festival, people came forward to participate in the tour of guests to honor the Hadar, and warmly welcome into the tent, hospitality. At night, men and women, young and old, hand in hand, in the hands of the leader of the dance team, accompanied by a string of bells, around the campfire, step in a beautiful dance, singing folk songs, singing and dancing, and even all night long.
11, horse racing (lunar July 1)
Popular in Hongyuan County and other places. Held every year on the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the festival period of one day. Horse racing is a very favorite activity of the Tibetan people, it is not only farming and animal husbandry leisure time collection, exchange of agricultural and animal husbandry production experience, and is the Tibetan people's spirit of the show. In all the Tibetan festivals that have been handed down and spread among the people, almost all of them are characterized by horse-racing activities. Horse racing is not only in the form of the mother theme in the festival, more importantly, built on the strong belief in the horse Tibetan people, the formation of such a national tradition of "Horse Racing Festival", and this activity has a long history. At that time, the county and nearby Tibetan people dressed in traditional national costume, from all directions until the racecourse, for a variety of forms of horse racing activities. There are collective race speed, there are teams for relay race, there are performances of horse running and archery, there are performances of horse racing skills, very lively. After the horse races, people exchange local products with each other.
12, bathing festival (Tibetan calendar July 6 to 12 held, lasted seven days)
Bathing festival, the Tibetan language called "gama day Ji" (bathing), is the Tibetan people's unique festival in Tibet at least seven or eight hundred years of history. Tibetan people according to Buddhism, the Tibetan plateau water has eight advantages, namely a sweet, two cool, three soft, four light, five clear, six does not stink, seven drink does not damage the throat, eight drink does not hurt the abdomen. Therefore, July is known as the best time for bathing. At the end of summer and early fall, Wanli Plateau wind and sunshine, high clouds.
Whether it is the city, the countryside or pastoral areas, men and women, young and old, the whole family out to the river and stream to celebrate the annual bathing festival. At that time, the Tibetan people carrying tents and ghee tea, barley wine, tsampa and other food, have come to the Lhasa River, the Yarlung Tsangpo River, to the Tibetan Plateau, thousands of rivers and lakes next to the competition in the water, enjoy the water to play, swimming. They set up tents in the shade of the river bank lawn, surrounded by the tent, laying on the card mat. Elderly people in the river wash their heads and rub their bodies, young people in the river bathing and swimming, children in the water play water fights, at this time the women also have no qualms about bathing, the body and the whole family's clothes are washed clean.
When resting, the family sat around the tent, savoring the fragrant barley wine and fragrant ghee tea. The tent was filled with laughter. In the seven days of the Bathing Festival, people not only come to the river every day to bathe, but also to clean all the bedding at home, so the Bathing Festival is not only a traditional festival loved by the Tibetan people, but also the most thorough annual, mass health activities.
13, looking forward to the fruit festival (autumn harvest period, lasted one to three days)
Looking forward to the fruit festival has a history of more than 1500 years, is the Tibetan people long for a good harvest of traditional festivals. "Wang Guo" is a translation of the Tibetan language, "look" Tibetan meaning field, land, "fruit" means circle, meaning "around the head of the ground circle ". Yarlung Zangbo River in the middle reaches and the Lhasa River on both sides of the countryside, very prevalent over the "hope fruit" festival, other places also have, but the festival name makes a difference, lazhi, fixed date around, known as the "yaji", that is, comfortable summer; work around the bara snow mountain is half-farming half-pastoral area, known as the "gang sang". Known as "help sang", that is, auspicious meadow, time is almost the same, are in the crop yellow ripe, ready to open the sickle before held. Before the liberation, the Tibetans are in the "king of birds" - geese flying south before the arrival of the season to Wang Guo Festival. Wang Guo Festival is an important cultural phenomenon of the Tibetan people, about its origin, rituals, ground or sexual characteristics colorful.
Legend has it that as early as the end of the 5th century A.D., the Tibetan King Boudhogunjian asked the Lord of the religion for advice to ensure a good grain harvest. The godfather of the purpose, let the farmers around the field circle, by holding incense burners, holding high the flag pole of the people as a guide, by holding high the wrapped around the hatha stick and sheep right leg of the godfather of this religion to lead the way, leading to hold the barley cob or wheat cob of the village townspeople around the head of the ground several times after the cob of all kinds of cereals inserted in the grain silo and shrines, and prayed for wind and rain, a good harvest.
"Wang Guo" festival lasted one to three days, in the autumn harvest before the auspicious day. Every year on this day, the Tibetan people are dressed in festive attire, some with colorful flags, some carrying barley, wheat ears tied into the harvest tower, harvest tower tied to the white "khada", holding up slogans, some banging gongs and drums, singing songs and Tibetan opera, some carrying Chairman Mao's statue, around the head of the ground in a circle, around the circle, the people carry tents, barley wine, while After the circle, people carry tents, barley wine, while talking about the ancient and modern, while partying and drinking, some also organize traditional horse racing, archery, yak racing, horseback riding and picking up the Hada and song and dance, Tibetan opera competitions. The commercial sector also organizes material exchanges, supplying national special-needs commodities and daily necessities, and acquiring local special products. After the Wangguo Festival, the intense fall harvest and sowing began.
14, the Russian Hei Festival (the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar)
The traditional Tibetan festival, popular in the area of Muli County. The festival is held on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar every year. Legend has it that in ancient times, the area around Muli was very affluent, Tibet and Yunnan's eight Tibetan tribes moved a long way to live in the settlement day, is the seventh day of the first month of the lunar calendar, people gathered together to sing and dance, indulgence and joy. Later, this day every year to hold commemorative activities, passed down from generation to generation, become a fixed festival. The day before the festival, families were busy preparing sumptuous food. On the day of the festival, the whole family sits together and drinks. It is customary to let the cats and dogs have a full meal, and if they eat meat first and then eat, it is a sign of good weather and a good harvest in agriculture and livestock in the coming year. Night. People gather around a pile of bonfires. Singing songs and dancing.