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Festivals are a resplendent affair in the land of the Thunder Dragon with people dressed in the finest hand woven material, coral and turquoise jewels. One of the most significant festivals is the Tsechus which is held in all districts once a year on auspicious days of the Bhutanese calendar in honor of Guru Rinpoche who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century. The dance dramas and masked dance rituals last up to as long as four days with hundreds or even thousands of Bhutanese gatherings at monasteries to watch.

Monks as well as community dancers gather to form the parade of masked dancers. The monks prepare for months in advance in deep prayer and meditation and perform special mystical dances that are believed to be inspirations of enlightened beings in history. Bhutanese believe that watching these dances are essential to gain enlightenment and try to attend at least once during their lifetime and consider it a blessing to attend. Families from all over gather at dzongs or fortresses or at monasteries donned in their best clothes and resplendent jewels with packed picnic baskets in traditional bamboo baskets to watch the festival and so is a good place to meet your family members and have a good time.

Tsechus is a traditional way of passing on the knowledge, values, spiritual beliefs and mythology through oral forms such as music and dance. On the dawn of the final day a giant silk tapestry called the thangkha painting is unfurled amid prayers and offerings. Most of these appliqué thangkhars depict one or other of an important Buddhist deity such as Guru Padmasambava. The dromchoe, a festival dedicated to protective deities are celebrated at certain monasteries such as Paro and some re-enact the war against Tibetans and archery contestants complete with victory dances and cheerleaders to support. The fire dance or Thangbi Mani is a ritual practiced in central valley to purify the soul and the Drum Dance celebrated in the Eastern hills celebrates Guru Rinpoche.

It would do well to check on the local festival dates before booking your Bhutan Hotel to include the festival during your stay, especially if staying at a Paro Hotelwhere the festival is celebrated with vigor in the city. One can watch the parade re-enacting the 17th century war against Tibet at Paro and after a busy day head back to the comfort of Uma Bhutan.

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