TIBETAN FESTIVALS
The festivals in the Tibetan areas are very important to keep the Tibetan culture alive. Many festivals center around the monastery, where everybody comes together to celebrate.
Festival dates for 2012:
22 January: Tibetan new year, called "Losar" in Tibetan. On this day, Tibetans visit their family and friends and dress in their finest clothes and jewelry.
04 February: Monlam Great Prayer festival. It is the most important festival of the year to celebrate the miracles performed by Buddha. This festival is celebrated outdoors and in the monasteries. Thankha display.
05 February: Riligious dances by the monks
06 February: Butter Lamp Festival. Last day of the Monlam festival. Huge butter sculptures are made by monks in order to celebrate the victory of Sakyamuni Buddha over non Buddhist opponents. The butter lamps are on display at the monastery for everyone to enjoy.
07 February: display of Maitreya Buddha statues through the streets of Xiahe. Lots of monks and local people in festive clothes and playing music.
Mid May: Kumbum festival with prayers, thankha unveiling and monks mask dancing.
04 June: Saga Dawa festival to celebrate Buddha's enlightenment and to celebrate his attainment of Nirvana after death.
03 July: unveiling of the grand thanka at the Tashilumpu monastery where many pilgrims want to prostrate in front of the thankha and touch the thankha with their forehead in order to receive blessings from the thankha.
03 July: Incense offering, called "Dzam Ling Chipsang" in Tibetan. This is to remember Guru Rimpoche subduing the obstructive deities and spirits in Tibet and converting them to protectors of Buddhism, in preparation for the founding of Samye monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Tibetans burn incense offerings to these deities all over Tibet.
20 July: Gyantse horse racing festival. Horse racing and archery.
25 July: Yushu horse racing festival.
01-03 August: Lithang horse racing festival.
Early August (date to be determined) : Repkong Shaman festival with ritual demon exorcism.
02 August: Ganden Monastery Thankha unveiling.
10 August: Nagchu horse racing festival.
17 August: Yogurt festival, called "Shorton" in Tibetan which is held yearly in Lhasa. A huge embroidered thangka will be on display at the Drepung monastery and thousands of pilgrims go there to touch their foreheads to the sacred Thangka in order to be blessed. Also at this time we have the Yogurt festival Opera at Norbulingka Summer Palace where a week long summer picnic is held by Tibetans. The picnic is accompanied by a historical and interesting Tibetan opera for the first 3 days.
25August: Labrang Cham dancing festival: monks at the Labrang monastery perform ritual dances and wear Buddhist masks. Thousands of Tibetans flock there for the special ceremony.
Date yet to be determined but will be in August: Labrang Sangke grassland horse racing festival
02 September: Karma Dunba / Shower festival. At this time, the planet Venus appears in the sky and it is believed that at this time the water in the river is at its purest. The Lhasa Tibetans go to the river to bath and hope the pure water will cure any diseases.
28 Nov: Palden Lhamo festival in Lhasa where a statue of Tibet's protector deity is paraded through the city.
08 December: Ganden Nga-choe festival to commemorate the death of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Yellow hat sect and the founder of the Labrang monastery. Every family burns countless butter lamps and many people walk the kora (prayer wheel route) the whole night.
Labrang Losar 
Butter lamp festival
horse racing festival and wrestling
Labrang Cham festival
Repkong Shaman festival