Fairs/Festivals

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Flower Festival

Gangtok

Gangtok is the venue for the Flower Festival. The flower festival begins with the Orchid Show in March during which competitions are held in different sections. The imaginative display of flowers in a large glass house at the Flower Exhibition Centre near the White Hall Complex is popular with both tourists as well as locals and attracts many visitors daily. A similar festival is also held at Namchi, South Sikkim every year.

Sikkim Red Panda Winter Festival

Gangtok

The Sikkim “Red Panda” Winter Carnival Festival which is named after the exotic Red Panda, the state animal of Sikkim, is the biggest tourism festival of the state and aims at promoting communal harmony and ‘Unity in Diversity’, whereby all the ethnic communities of Sikkim come together to celebrate life and culture.

Existing link for information from district website– https://gangtokdistrict.nic.in/event/sikkim-red-panda-winter-carnival-2019/

https://gangtokdistrict.nic.in/gallery/sikkim-red-panda-winter-carnival/

Gangtok Food and Culture Festival

Gangtok

December is the month for the annual Gangtok Food and Culture Festival organized by the Sikkim Tourism department. Sikkim’s multi-cultural cuisine, along with traditional music and dance performances are presented for the tourist. Food stalls decorated in ethnic style are put up in the Titanic park at MG Marg and a cultural show is presented in the huge set erected opposite the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department. The first day usually begins with a carnival that moves across town.

Saga Dawa

All over Sikkim

One of the most famous and biggest festivals of Sikkim, Saga Dawa is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour every year. The festival is the most significant and sacred for the followers of Mahayana Buddhism who on this auspicious occasion commemorate Lord Buddha’s birth, his attainment of enlightenment and salvation from this corporeal world. For all travellers and cultural aficionados seeking a sneak-peek into vibrant Buddhist culture, undoubtedly, Saga Dawa provides for a perfect platform offering a visual treat of various religious ceremonies and street processions.
Saga Dawa or the Triple Blessed Festival is an auspicious month for the Sikkimese Buddhists with prayers held throughout the month in various monasteries. On the full moon of this 4th month of the Tibetan calendar celebrated as Buddha Purnima in the rest of Indiais the main celebration.
It is believed that on this day the Buddha was born, attained Enlightenment and achieved nirvana. A colourful procession of monks playing musical instruments and devotees carrying holy texts, portraits and statues of Lord Buddha is taken out in Gangtok as well as in other towns and villages of Sikkim. People gather in the streets to touch their heads with the Holy Scriptures in order to receive blessings.

Guru Rimpoche’sThunkarTshechu

Gangtok

The birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the patron saint of Sikkim is celebrated with great pomp in the state. It falls on the tenth day of the fifth Tibetan month. In Gangtok a procession carrying the statue of the Guru is taken around town. Chaams are held at Rumtek monastery celebrating different episodes from his life.

Pang Lhabsol

Tsuklakhang Monastery, Gangtok

Pang Lhabsol is celebrated to offer respect and homage to the third highest mountain, Mount Kanchenjunga. But this is not it, Pang means ‘to witness’ and apart from paying homage it also commemorates the Treaty of brotherhood among Lepchas and Bhutias. It signifies the unity of the Sikkimese.
Many tourists visit Sikkim just to watch this festival and you will find many locals cheering the dancers. The entire aura is vibrant with dancers twirling fiercely on the beat of the drums. It is such a positive feeling and marks the unity of people.

Maghe Mela

All over Sikkim

MagheySankrati is celebrated all over Sikkim as one of the major festivals of the Hindu community. However, it is not confined to only one religious group. People of different religions come together to take part in this festival. There are fairs in almost all parts of Sikkim. People gather to take a holy dip in the rivers of Teesta and Rangit.
The main activities during this mela are sale and exhibition of local handicrafts and handlooms, floriculture and horticulture products, cultural programme and competitions in local dance and music. The festival carries on for almost a week. People from neighboring State as well as tourists from all over the country as well as abroad visits Jorethang during this festival. Some of the adventure activities which are popular in this area are river rafting, paragliding and angling.

Drukpa Tshechi

Gangtok

This festival celebrates Lord Buddha’s first preaching of the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples at Saranath. The festival is held on the 4th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.

Tihar (deepawali)

All over Sikkim

Deepawali is held in October/November and It is celebrated by Hindus and it takes place all over the state and It is considered as the festival of lights and celebrated exactly a fortnight after Dasain. According to the legend, Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile was celebrated on this particular day by lighting of earthen lamps all over. Before the festival, all Hindus clean, white wash and paint their houses and surrounding areas. These are decorated with marigold flowers and buntings. Earthen lamps and candles are lit and electrical decoration also takes place. People worship Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth at night.

Loosong/ Namsoong

All over Sikkim

The festival of Loosong is mostly celebrated in the month of December every year with traditional gaiety and colour both by Lepchas and Bhutias. It marks the end of harvest season as also the closing of the Tibetan year. Several religious dances (known as Chaams) are performed mostly in the famous monasteries of all four districts to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Traditional archery competitions are also held at various places during the festival.
Lossong celebrated all over Sikkim marks the end of the harvest season at the end of the tenth month of the Tibetan Year. Taking cue from a good harvest and praying for even better prospects for the next crop, the festival is marked by religious masked dances in Enchey Monastery. The dances symbolize the exorcizing of the evil spirits and the welcoming of the good spirits for the new year. Lossong has now become an important festival where visitors from all over the world can get to see the local sporting events like archery, climbing of greased pole.
Local cuisine, handicrafts, floriculture and cultural programmes are some of the added attractions during the festival. The festival is organized by Tribal Youth Association of Gangtok.

Kagyed Dance

Old Monasteries of Gangtok, Sikkim

Kagyed dance, a customary dance festival, celebrated annually in Sikkim falls on the 28th and 29th day of the tenth month according to Tibetan calendar, which according to English calendar falls in the month of December. In the name of eight tantrik Gods and Goddesses commonly called Kagyed, lamas on these days perform dances and sing songs in different monasteries and offer prayers to them requesting these deities to save human beings from the tormenting evil spirits and to bless them for good health and fortune.
It is celebrated by Buddhists and Takes place in Monasteries, particulary at the Old Rumtek Monastery, Phodong Monastery and at the Tshuklakhang Palace n Kagyed Dance or Chaam is another Buddhist festival unique to Sikkim. The celebrations commence two days prior to the onset of Loosong. It is a major attraction of the festival as monks are elaborately dressed in traditional attires with ceremonial swords and masks swaying to the rhythm of echoing drums and trumpeting horns swiftly and gracefully in perfect coordination with their fellow dancers depicting narrativized tales from the Buddhist mythology, particularly the chronicles of Guru Padmasambhava and his powers. Not only is the Chaam a symbol of victory but it is also believed that those who witness it are supposedly blessed with good health and wealth. It eventually comes to a closure with the burning of effigies made with flour, wood and paper. A number of variants are performed on different festivals, with one thing remaining common in all i.e. the masks representing scores of human, deities and animal faces enacting an interesting story from Buddhist mythology.

Sakewa

All over Sikkim

It is celebrated by Rais and Takes place all over the state n Kirat Rais are basically nature worshippers and during the festival, prayers are offered to the natural supreme power, the creator of the universe for peace, protection and wellbeing of all living and non-living things of the universe. It is an annual festival and is celebrated as a tribute to mother nature. It is marked with the performing of puja where prayers are offered to the Supreme Power for Peace and Protection and for the wellbeing of all the living and non-living things of the universe. n Info: The rituals for this particular festival are performed in an open space, which is also known as Bhoomi Puja or Chandi Puja. SakewaSilior ceremonial dances are performed where dancers imitate the movements and sounds of birds, beasts and nature. It carries a cultural significance and depicts a unique charm of the community.

GuthorChaam

Rumtek Monastery, Gangtok

Two days prior to the Tibetan New Year (LOSAR) corresponding to the months of February/March, this colorful masked dance is performed during Losar, the Tibetan New Year. Monks and devotees come together to celebrate and seek blessings.

Losar

Gangtok

Losar is the Tibetan New Year which falls in the month of February and is likewise celebrated by inviting friends and relatives for family gatherings. Two days prior to Losar, the GutorChaam is performed at Rumtek monastery depicting the battle between good and evil and the ritualized destruction of evil.

Durga Puja/ Dasain

Few places all over Sikkim

Happens in October