Shoton Festival (Yoghurt Festival)
Brief Introduction of Shoton Festival:
It is a traditional festival of Tibet. “Sho” in Tibetan means sour milk, “Tun” means “eating”. The Shoton Festival is a festival of drinking yoghurt. From April to June of the Tibetan calendar, monks must stay in their monasteries to cultivate themselves. It is called “settlement in summer”, lasting until the end of June. On the day the prohibition is lifted, monks will leave the monasteries and go downhill. People will reward them by preparing yoghurt, holding a banquet in the field and performing Tibetan opera. This is the origin of the Shoton Festival. Now, it has become an art festival of Tibet. Besides the original Tibetan opera performance, performances by literature and art troupes of Tibet, and other countries are also offered, making the occasion more boisterous.
Festival duration: The 29th of the sixth month till the first day of the seventh month of the Tibetan calendar.
Sho Ton Festival features:
Now there is a ceremony of unfolding giant of the Buddha during the period in Drepung Monastery. There are also grand and warm Tibetan opera performances at this time, thus it is also known as the “Tibetan Opera festival”. Yak Race, and dancing performance, etc. With a high level of ornamental value and participation, Buddhist believers from all over the world flocked to Lhasa to wait for the Thangka -- Buddha statue to be displayed, the whole process are pious and solemn. Main forms of festivals:
1, Thangka – Buddha Statue revealing ceremony at Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery. People are flowing in Lhasa waiting for the giant painting of Buddha to be unfolded.
2, Tibetan opera, singing and dancing.
3, Spend Ling Ka – Local Tibetans are ahead for our picnic at the Norbulingka Park as they gather together, chatting and enjoy the warm sunshine.
4, Tibetan fine Thangka exhibition.
5, Tibetan ethnic costumes and cultural activities, etc.
Notifications:
1, Lhasa has a large flow of people, therefore, you have to take care of your own belongings.
2, During the Sho Ton festival, there will be raining at night. It is recommended to carry rain gear when traveling at night, also have to prevent thunderstorms.
3、There are trong UV during the day, do a good job in advance to prevent the sun is nessensary, at the night the temperature is getting lower, please pay attention to add clothes to keep warm.
4, It is suggested to choose the right angle and location early in the morning for filming the giant painting of Buddha, and then you can go ahead for Norbulingka Park and Zongjiao Lukang Park to film the Tibetan opera performance.
