Shoton Festival is one of the most significant festivals held once a year in Tibet.

Shoton is a Tibetan word, where “sho” means yogurt and “ton” means banquet, which make this festival also known as the Yogurt Festival. Starting late June or early July, Shoton Festival usually lasts for four to five days, or up to a week. Lhasa during this period, is a wonderful opportunity to explore the charisma of the Tibetan culture and daily life by watching the traditional Tibetan operas, enjoying the picnic with local people and tasting the pure yogurt with other traditional Tibetan cuisines.

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This festival celebrates the Jampa Buddha (Maitreya Buddha in Tibetan Buddhism), regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Tibetan Buddhist eschatology. It is the most important Tibetan Buddhist festival celebrated on the 15th day of the first Tibetan Calendar. During this day, monks start chanting Buddhist scriptures within The Garden Sumtseling Monastery(also known as The Songzanlin Monastery ) in the early morning. At nine o’clock AM, they get Jampa Buddha outside the inner sanctuary within the temple into the garden with worship. Then the guard of honor circles the Monastery clockwise. Behind the guard of honor, bodhisattvas and believers present Hada to Jampa Buddha while chanting hymns all the way and praying for good luck and peace in the New Year.

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Gedong Festival is an unusual Tibetan Buddhist festival held in Yunnan’s monasteries. The Cham dance performed at the ceremony is one of the most powerful scenes that guests can experience. For most Tibetan people，the Cham dance is the climax, as performers put on masks and clothes that portray deities and ghosts.Gedong Festival usually takes place in the winter and the specific date is decided by the different religious sects.

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Tibetan New Year or Losar is the most important traditional festival for Tibetans. It begins on the first day of the Tibetan calendar, and the entire celebration typically lasts for 15 days, while most of the festivities will take place in the first three or five days. During the festival, tourists could experience variously local traditional activities, such as savoring new year’s cuisine (Guthuk etc), taking part in a ceremony called “expelling ghosts”, visiting the New Year’s market, enjoying performances (Vbrasdkar Dancing etc), joining the Buddhist kora, burning Pine Tree Branches and hanging New Year Prayer Flags.

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