Cultural story

Tibetan New Year (the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar), known as "Rosa" in Tibetan, is the biggest festival of the year. Tibetan people attach great importance to this festival. As soon as we entered the Tibetan calendar of 65438+February, people began to prepare for the New Year. Every household should soak highland barley seeds in water. In the new year, they will grow seedlings one or two inches long and put them on Buddhist temples or coffee tables to show the bumper harvest in the new year. Since mid-February, 65438+ and kaboose (fried food) have been fried one after another. There are many kinds of caboose, including ear-shaped bitter, strip-shaped Xia Na, twisted wooden cave, disc-shaped blue and spoon-shaped bindo. Near the New Year, families will also do "horse cutting", that is, a wooden barrel painted with auspicious colors is filled with food such as Ciba, highland barley and ginseng fruit, with highland barley ears inserted on it, and a sheep head (called "Luoguo" in Tibetan) is prepared. These are mascots to wish a bumper harvest in the coming year. In addition, every household should paint white ash on the wall outside the house; Some paint the gates with lime powder to symbolize auspiciousness and eternity. Others painted a lot of white dots on the beams, indicating that life is well-fed. On the first day of the first month of the Tibetan calendar, housewives get up at dawn, go to the well or the river to pick up the first bucket of auspicious water for the New Year, and then wake up their families. After the whole family put on new clothes, the elders took out "chariots and horses", each grabbed a few grains of highland barley or rice cakes, waved them in the air three times to show their sacrifice to the gods, and then sent the rest of their hands to their mouths. After the ceremony, everyone ate "large" and ginseng fruit cooked with ghee and sugar, and made a toast to highland barley wine. During the festival, young men and women will also greet each other with "chariots and horses" and highland barley wine, and people wish each other "Happy Tashi" (good luck) when they meet. On the first day of the first month, family members get together behind closed doors without visiting each other. In the morning, I also have the habit of drinking "Guan Dan" (hot highland barley wine with brown sugar, milk residue and Baba). From the second day of junior high school, relatives and friends will pay New Year greetings to each other, and there are laughter, singing and dancing everywhere. Tibetan calendar activities generally last about five to seven days.

Call the dharma meeting. During the Tibetan calendar year, from the third day to the 25th day of the first month, it was a religious festival "Molang Qinmo", which meant to pray for the Dharma Council. During this period, lamas from the three major monasteries in Lhasa will gather in Jokhang Temple to hold a Dharma Meeting, and through strict argumentation and examination, the highest-ranking Yellow Sect "Gexi" will be awarded to the winners. During the spread of Zhao, a ceremony will be held to welcome siddhattha gotama and reinforce the Lhasa River embankment. Zhao Chuan Dharma Association was first initiated by Zong Kaba, the founder of Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, in 1409, and has continued to this day.

Butter Lantern Festival (15th day of the first month of Tibetan calendar) is called "Jian 'a Cuba" in Tibetan. During the day, people go to various temples to pray for the Buddha. At night, butter sculpture Lantern Festival is held in Bajiao Street, Lhasa. The streets are filled with statues of Buddha, birds and animals, flowers and trees made of ghee, some like pyramids and some like vases. The offerings in front of Jokhang Temple are13m long and18m wide, all made of multicolored ghee. After the lantern is lit, it is like a star falling, flashing and shining. People danced under the lights and stayed up all night.

Tibetans like to grow flowers and enjoy them. On this day, every household should take out all kinds of flowers and trees at home for the winter and put them on the sunny windowsill. By then, the whole city of Lhasa will be full of flowers and full of the breath of spring.

Sakyadawa Festival (April 15 in Tibetan calendar) is said to be Sakyamuni's birthday and a quiet day in the garden. People will hold various religious activities and gather in Longwangtan Scenic Area in Lhasa for boating, singing and dancing. At the foot of Gangrenbuqi, the "holy mountain" of Ali, pilgrims will hold a grand flag-raising ceremony of "Danbashuoxin". Flagpoles more than ten meters high are covered with colorful flags and colorful flags. After the flagpole was erected, pilgrims from Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and other Tibetan areas as well as Nepal and India bowed down, and lamas held religious ceremonies to pray for a bumper harvest in agriculture and animal husbandry.

Karin Festival is called "Zemulin Sangji" in Tibetan, which means "Happy World Day". When the festival comes, people wear holiday costumes and take butter tea, highland barley wine and all kinds of delicious food to Karin (a tree-lined place) for a picnic. According to the custom, the activities of visiting Karin began on May 1 day in Tibetan calendar and reached its climax on May 15. Now, the whole summer in Tibet Plateau has become a festival to visit Karin. People bring food and cooking utensils, set up tents in beautiful Woods and lawns, and revel to the fullest, sometimes for more than seven days in a row.

Xuedun Festival (starting on July 1 day in Tibetan calendar) means "Yogurt Banquet Festival" in Tibetan. On this day, professional and amateur Tibetan opera troupes from all over Tibet gathered in Norbulingka, Lhasa to perform traditional Tibetan operas. According to the custom, the opening ceremony will be held in Gandanpozhang Square in drepung monastery, and a grand Buddha exhibition ceremony will be held before sunrise the next morning. At that time, the air was filled with the sound of horns and the smoke of cigarettes. Hundreds of monks carried the huge colorful Sakyamuni Thangka, which was tens of meters long, to the dedicated Buddha platform in Qinlang Mountain, and slowly spread out the Buddha statue. Thousands of good men and women worship, sing and dance in front of the huge Buddha statue, and people are immersed in a strong religious atmosphere. Various cultural performances and exhibitions will be held during the Snowdon Festival, which is gradually becoming the annual "Tibet Art Festival".

Bathing Festival (early July in Tibetan calendar) is an annual plateau bathing activity. Every July in the Tibetan calendar, the rainy season on the plateau has just passed, and the weather is sunny and the temperature is very high during the day. Therefore, people go out with their families, washing their hair, bathing, washing clothes and bedding in the water. During the bathing festival, the Lhasa River was covered with colorful clothes, Tibetan quilts and card mats. The bathers sat around the shore in groups of three and five to drink highland barley wine and butter tea. In the water, people enjoy bathing and laughing. The bathing festival usually lasts about a week. According to records, the Tibetan Bathing Festival has a history of 700-800 years. According to Tibetan calendar records, autumn water is the best, and the water in early autumn has eight advantages: first, it is sweet, second, it is cold, third, it is soft, fourth, it is light, fifth, it is clear, sixth, it does not stink, seven drinks do not hurt the throat, and eight drinks do not hurt the abdomen. Of course, people like this autumn water, especially after the summer flood, the dirt in the water has long disappeared, so it is very scientific to take a bath in this season.

World's Day (August in Tibetan calendar) is an annual festival to celebrate the harvest. "Looking at the fruit" means "cruising in the fields". During the festival, people gather in the fields to parade and enjoy singing and dancing. At the same time, they hold horse racing, yak racing, archery, shooting, stone holding and wrestling. According to the Calendar of Stupid Education, the Guowang Festival first began in the period of Bude Gong Jie, the king of Tibet, at the end of the 5th century, with a history of 1500 years.

The Immortal Descent Festival (September 22nd in Tibetan calendar) is called "Gubalapo Duiqin" in Tibetan. People think that on this day, the gods came to earth and toured the world. Therefore, they are more enthusiastic and pious in worshipping Buddha, chanting scriptures, doing good deeds and giving alms, hoping that everything will be smooth and auspicious. On this day, 10,000 butter lamps in the three major temples in Lhasa, Jokhang Temple and Jokhang Temple were brightly lit, and there were a sea of people worshipping Buddha, which was very lively. Bajiao Street is filled with the fragrance of pine branches. Pilgrims gathered in front of the huge clay incense burner. People rushed to throw herbs and pine branches into the stove. The fire is blazing and the cigarettes are lingering. The ancient city of Lhasa is full of sacred and joyful atmosphere.

Fairy Festival (Tibetan calendar 10 15), called "Bailai Danzhen" in Tibetan, is regarded as "Tibetan Women's Day". People hold various religious activities, especially women. They are dressed in costumes and happy, and they are particularly respected and welcomed wherever they go.

Lantern Festival (Tibetan calendar1October 25th), known in Tibetan as "ganden Aqu", is a garden silence day of Zong Kaba, the founder of Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. On this night, countless butter lamps were lit on the roofs of temples and people all over Tibet as a souvenir.

Exorcism Festival (Tibetan calendar1February 29th) is called "Gu Duo" in Tibetan. On this day, the Potala Palace and various monasteries will hold activities of jumping into the gods, which means exorcising evil spirits and eliminating disasters on New Year's Eve. In the evening, the whole family get together to eat "Gu Tu", that is, Tuba (soup made of beef and dough) on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. Some large doughs are wrapped in stones, peppers, charcoal, wool and other things. When they eat these things, they must spit them out on the spot, causing laughter and making Tibetan New Year's Eve full of joy and joy.