Calendar

The unique Tibetan Calendar and 2005 -2008 celebration date contrast of Tibetan festivals

For the seclusion and different plateau climate from the inner land, the Tibetans used their own wisdom to explore astronomic changes in their productions and daily life, and finally created a rough series of rules as their guide. Before 100 BC, the indigenous religion of Tibet - Bon marked off months according to the circle of changes of the moon. Later they calculated the recursive date of the Winter Solstice, which was then fixed as the beginning of a year. They also extracted some ideas from the Indian Calendar when Buddhism was introduced from there. In the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), Princess Wencheng was married to the King of Tibet - Songtsen Gampo - and also brought the imperial calendar (or lunar calendar) of Han people there. The Tibetan Calendar was greatly developed after absorbing these foreign essence. It was finally identified as a formal calendar in the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) when Tibet was ruled by the Mongol like the inner land, and had been passed on until now.

By the formal Tibetan Calendar, there are 12 months of 354 days a year on average, which was divided into longer months of 30 days and shorter months of 29 days. Passing 1,000 days more or less, another month intervenes to adjust the harmony between months and climate. So the Tibetan New Year and the similar Lunar New Year (Chinese Spring Festival), form a relationship of 'Circle of Three Years' with each other. That is, their dates are the same in the first year, and have a discrepancy of one day the second year and one month the third year. Then they meet again in the fourth year and are circulated like that.

The Tibetan Calendar has a similar way of counting years as the Lunar Calendar by the connection of 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthen Branches to designate marks of order. But the Five Elements (Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) and 12 Zodiac Attributes (Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog, Pig) are used to replace them and either 'Solar' or 'Lunar' is appended before. For example, we can name a Tibetan year as 'Solar Water Dog'. There is a small circle every 12 years and a big circle 60 years. So 'Solar' and 'Lunar' are often omitted in use without any misunderstanding. The first circle of Tibetan Calendar began in 1027, and the year of 1982 was called as 'Water Dog' in Tibet according to this method.

The Tibetan Calendar also uses 24 solar terms to predict the movement of the Five Planet as well as Solar and Lunar Eclipse. Besides, it can also calculate changes of weather and climate and the earthquake according to the location of the Nine Planets of Solar System, which is out of reach for other calendars. For its research on climate, weather and geography, Tibetan Calendar is also widely advocated in Tibetan Medicine  for picking and making herbal medicines, pulse examination and other treatments. Tibetan festivals  are also dated on this calendar.

• 2010 Celebration Date Contrast of Tibetan Festivals
  
  

  Festivals	Date Contrast
  	Gregorian Calendar	Tibetan Calendar
  Tibetan New Year in Shigatse Area	Jan.16	Dec.1
  Sera Monastery Festival	Feb.10	Dec.27
  Tibetan New Year (Beginning of Earth Ox)	Feb.14	Jan.1
  Beginning of Monlam Great Prayer Festival	Feb.18	Jan.4
  Butter Lamp Festival	Feb.28	Jan.15
  Cham (Lama Dancing) in Tshurpu Monastery	May.23	Apr.10
  Saga Dawa Festival	May.27	Apr.15
  Cham (Lama Dancing) in Drigung-til Monastery	Jun.8	Apr.26
  Beginning of Shigatse Thangka Festival	Jun.24	May.13
  World Incense Festival	Jun.26	May.15
  Dharma Wheel Festival	Jul.15	Jun.4
  Ganden Thangka Festival	Jul.25	Jun.15
  Beginning of Shoton Festival	Aug.10	Jun.30
  Drak Yerpa Thangka Festival	Aug.19	Jul.10
  Buddha’s Descending	Oct.29	Sep.22
  Tibetan New Year in Kongbo Area	Nov.7	Oct.1
  Palden Lhamo Festival	Nov.21	Oct.15
  Butter Lamp Festival	Dec.1	Oct.26
  Philosophical Debate at Jang Monastery	Dec.21	Nov.15