Bhutan known as the land of the thunder is respected around the world for its rich culture and heritage, and is celebrates some of the vibrant festivals, deeply-rooted to the customs and spirituality.
Like New Year, there is Bhutanese New Year, referred to as Losar, and is celebrated by praying and enjoying a feast and playing traditional sports like archery. The locals dress in colorful attire known as Gho and Kira, which is the national attire of Bhutan.
Bhutan Tours offer travelers the opportunity to experience the most famous festival celebrated in Bhutan, Tshechu, which honors the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche. During this vibrant festival, monks perform masked dances to enlighten the audience with stories of good triumphing over evil, and locals believe that attending these religious performances brings blessings and protection from malevolent forces.
Similarly, another important celebrated in Bhutan is the Punakha Drubchen festival which provides an insight into Bhutan’s military heritage and their patriotic spirit, fighting against the invaders. In this festival, it showcases the bravery of Bhutanese warriors, their traditional costumes and weapons.
The festivals celebrated in Bhutan not only takes your closer to the history of the region but also lets you immerse in the culture and tradition of the region, that has been passed on for generations now. For the people of Bhutan, emphasizes mainly on the tradition of the region, which remains pure and unadulterated, totally untouched by the outside world.
The traditions of Bhutan, deep-rooted in spirituality
Bhutan Tour Package offers a unique opportunity to explore a country that is the only one in the world still following its age-old traditions. For the locals, these traditions are crucial in preserving the culture and heritage of the region, deeply rooted in Buddhist teachings, which they incorporate into their daily lives. Here’s a list of some amazing traditions of Bhutan that you would love to discover during your Bhutan Tour Package.
They value warmth and hospitality
The people of Bhutan are known for their warmth and hospitality and deeply follow their values. They are welcoming and down to earth, and treat their guests with respect. One of the ways of treating their guest visiting their house is treating with Suja (butter tea) and Zow (roasted rice).
The locals form communities to build houses, temples, and celebrating festivals together, this showcases that they believe in togetherness and well-being of the society.
The traditional attire of the Bhutanese people
The most popular traditional dress of Bhutan is the national attire, which are called Gho and Kira. The Gho is the traditional attire of the men accompanied by knee-length robe which is tied by a belt at the waist. The Kira is the traditional attire of the women accompanied by ankle-length dress. These traditional attires are mostly worn during festival time, religious ceremonies, while visiting government offices and when attending any event.
The religious tradition of Bhutan and why mask dances are conducted
During the religious traditions in Bhutan usually mask dances are conducted which is referred to as Cham. One of the religious festival during which mask dances are conducted is Tshechus which is celebrated to pay respect to their deities and saints.
During the festival of Tshechus, the mask dances are usually performed by the monks, enlightens the audience with stories that good always wins over evil. The locals believe that watching these religious performances will help them to get blessings and protection from evil.
Bhutan has a National Sport too, its Archery
If you did not know, the national sports of Bhutan is archery, in fact during the festivals and competitions, archery is organized wherein the participants will be able to test their skills. It is not an archery competition like in the Olympics, but more to uplift the traditional spirit of the people and follow their roots. The participant has to shoot at wooden targets located at a distance, and to add to the enthusiasm, it is accompanied by dancing, singing and teasing. Quite interesting and jolly, right?
These unique traditions not only uplift the spirit of the people, but brings the community together, and leading a happy and peaceful life.
Did you know about the unique festivals of Bhutan?
Bhutan Tours offer an incredible chance to experience some of the world’s most unique festivals, which are deeply connected to Buddhism and the rich history of the region. These festivals provide insight into the mountain kingdom’s lifestyle and spirituality. Celebrated not only for religious reasons, they also serve as an important way to bring the community together, making Bhutan Tours a culturally enriching experience.
The importance of celebrating festivals in Bhutan
Bhutan Tour Package provides an immersive experience into one of the few nations in the world that prioritizes preserving its rich culture and traditions. These festivals offer a deep insight into the region’s cultural values, emphasizing community togetherness and spirituality. The people of Bhutan believe that celebrating a festival brings them closer to God, strengthens their faith, builds strong bonds, and allows for joyous moments with friends and family members, making it a significant highlight of any Bhutan Tour Package.
For tourists visiting Bhutan during festival time will be one of the rare opportunities to immerse in the culture and traditions of the region and have a chance to gain spirituality. The people of Bhutan have not only preserved their age-old culture and traditions, but have also embraced the modern style of living.
Here is a list of some of the important festivals celebrated in Bhutan:
The Bhutanese New Year festival, known as Losar
The people of Bhutan celebrate their New Year festival, referred to as Losar in the month of February or March (which differs according to region). During this New Year festival families gather together, prepare food, enjoy a feast together and offer their prayers to the God. The locals prepare a roasted rice dish called Zow, and a fermented drink made of barley called Chang, they offer to their deities.
Also, people clean their houses and make offering to their deities and visit the monasteries to offer their prayers and seek blessings from the God so that the year is filled with happiness.
The Tshechus festival
One of the most important festivals celebrated in Bhutan is Tshechu, which is a religious festival, celebrated to honor the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche who introduced Buddhism in Bhutan in 8th century.
It is celebrated in different regions in Bhutan in the fortresses and monasteries, the festivals takes place for many days. In this festival, the dances are performed by the monks wearing masks, and try to explain to the audience with interesting stories about how good always wins over evil. The locals believe that watching these religious performances will help them to get blessings and protection from evil.
More than thousands of people gather to be a part of this festival and watch the mask dance. The audience gets captivated by the stories it tells and how to attain enlightenment by fighting over evil.
One of the highlight of the Tshechus festival is that a large painting is made or embroidered in a scroll. In the city of Paro, this large painting is revealed on the last day of the festival, and the locals believe that having a glimpse of this painting will help to get rid of evil spirits and cleanse the sins as well.
In the capital city Thimphu, the Tshechu festival popularly referred to as Thimphu Tshechu is celebrated with grand fervor where large crowds gather and the monks dances with the colorful attire and masks, captivating the audience with the stories and their dances. This is also an opportunity for the locals not only to engage in the spiritual atmosphere, but to socialize and enjoy a great feast.
The Punakha Drubchen festival
The Punakha Drubchen is another important and unique festival celebrated in Bhutan. This festival is unique because it has historical significance; it provides an insight into Bhutan’s military heritage and their patriotic spirit, fighting against the invaders, who tried to invade Bhutan, and how their soldier defeated them and won the battle.
In this festival, it showcases the bravery of Bhutanese warriors, their traditional costumes and weapons. If you aren’t aware these Bhutanese warriors, referred to as Pazaps, were the common people who took the arms to protect their land from invading by Tibetan forces in the 17th century. The battle was won under the leadership of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who is remembered among the people for his bravery.
Till date Bhutan is a non-violence nation, focusing on national happiness, maintaining peace and unity. Being a part of this festival will surely encourage you to be patriotic as a commoner.
The Haa Summer Festival
Another interesting festival is the Haa Summer Festival or the nomadic festival which is celebrated by the nomadic herders of Haa Valley. This festival is held in the summer months every year, and lets visitors know about the nomadic lifestyle of the people, their culture, traditions and their everyday lifestyle in the rural region.
In this festival, the locals celebrate by following their age-old traditions, like preparing food in the traditional way, performing religious ceremonies, rituals and herding of yak. To make the celebration more enthusiastic, archery and darts competitions are included.
What tourists can do? Be part of the yak herding, preparing the food, attending the religious ceremonies and participate in archery and dart competition. Do try the traditional chilies and cheese (known as Ema Datshi) and the traditional butter tea (known as Suja).
Visiting Bhutan during the festival time is one of the best opportunities to know about the culture and traditions of the region. It will help visitors to have an authentic experience.
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