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Bhutan Festivals
Festivals in the Land of the Thunder Dragon are rich and happy expressions of its ancient Buddhist culture. These festivals are held in all districts in honour of Guru Rinpoche, the saint who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century. Tsechus are held on auspicious days and months in the Bhutanese calendar, and last up to four days in which a series of highly stylised masked dance rituals are performed.
Festivals are also a big family and social occasion. People dress up in their finest clothes and most resplendent jewelry of coral and turquoise. They pack picnic lunches in their traditional bamboo baskets and stay all day at the festivals which are usually held in the dzongs (fortresses) or at monasteries.
Behind the scenes, the monks prepare themselves for weeks ahead of the festival, involved in deep prayer and meditation prior to the festival. The monks perform special masked dances that are inspirations of enlightened beings in history; and the Bhutanese believe that watching these mystical dances is essential to gain enlightenment. All Bhutanese try to attend a festival at least once in a lifetime, and for many, it is an important annual affair where they consider it a blessing to be able to watch the dances. Apart from the monks, community dancers also participate in the local festivals.Festival Date for 2011
Bhutan the Monastic festival dates 2011
FESTIVAL |
PLACE |
DATES |
PUNAKHA DRUBCHHEN |
PUNAKHA |
8th to 12th FEB |
PUNAKHA TSHECHU |
PUNAKHA |
13th to 15th FEB |
CHHORTEN KORA |
TRASHIYANGTSHE |
18th FEB & 4th MAR |
GOMPHUKORA |
TRASHIGANG |
13th to 15th MARCH/11th to 13th APRIL |
PARO TSHECHU |
PARO |
15th to 19th MARCH |
CHHUKHA TSHECHU |
CHHUKHA |
17th to 19th MARCH/16th to 18th APRIL |
URA TSHECHU |
BUMTHANG |
13th to 17th MAY |
NIMALUNG TSHECHU |
BUMTHANG |
8th to 10th JUL |
KURJEY TSHECHU |
BUMTHANG |
10th JUL |
THIMPHU DRUBCHEN |
THIMPHU |
1st to 5th OCT |
WANGDUE TSHECHU |
WANGDUEPHODRANG |
4th to 6th OCT |
TAMSHING PHALA CHHOEPA |
BUMTHANG |
5th to 7th OCT |
THIMPHU TSHECHU |
THIMPHU |
6th to 8th OCT |
THANGBI MANI |
BUMTHANG |
10th to 12th OCT |
JAMBAY LHAKHANG DRUB |
BUMTHANG |
10th to 14th NOV |
PRAKHAR TSHECHU |
BUMTHANG |
11th to 13th NOV |
MONGAR TSHECHU |
MONGAR |
1st to 4th DEC |
PEMAGATSHEL TSHECHU |
PEMAGATSHEL |
1st to 4th DEC |
TRASHINGANG TSHECHU |
TRSASHIGANG |
2nd to 5th DEC |
NALAKHAR TSHECHU |
BUMTHANG |
10th to 12th DEC |
TRONGSA TSHECHU |
TRONGSA |
2nd to 4th JAN, 2012 |
LHUENTSE TSHECHU |
LHUENTSE |
2nd to 4th JAN, 2012 |