National Day (Bhutan)
Public holidays in Bhutan consist of both national holidays and local festivals or ''tshechus''. While national holidays are observed throughout Bhutan, tsechus are only observed in their areas. Bhutan uses its own calendar, a variant of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. Because it is a lunisolar calendar, dates of some national holidays and most tshechus change from year to year. For example, the new year, Losar, generally falls between February and March. National holidays Bhutan has sixteen public holidays. Bhutanese holidays are rooted in the Drukpa Lineage of Kagyu Buddhism, the House of Wangchuck and the Tibetan calendar. Even secular holidays, however, have a measure of religious overtone, as religious choreography and blessings mark these auspicious days. Winter solstice Nyinlong or Nyilong ( dz, ཉིན་ལོང་, "return of the sun"), the winter solstice celebration, is a public holiday falling on 2 January every year. Nyinlog is considered the most auspicious day ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Public Holiday
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, such as the National Day. For example, Australians celebrate Australia Day. They vary by country and may vary by year. With Public holidays in Nepal, 36 days a year, Nepal is the country with the highest number of public holidays but it observes six working days a week. India ranks second with 21 national holidays, followed by Colombia and the Philippines at 18 each. Likewise, China and Hong Kong enjoy 17 public breaks a year. Some countries (e.g. Cambodia) with a longer, six-day workweek, have more holidays (28) to compensate. The public holidays are generally days of celebration, like the anniversary of a significant historical event, or can be a religious holiday, religious celebration like Diwali. Holidays can land on a specific day ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Darts
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the board, though unlike in sports such as archery, these areas are distributed all across the board and do not follow a principle of points increasing towards the bullseye (target), centre of the board. Though a number of similar games using various boards and rules exist, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. Darts is both a professional shooting sport and a traditional pub game. Darts is commonly played in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and recreationally enjoyed around the world. History Dartboard The original target in the game is likely to have been a section of a tree trunk, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sarnath
Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha taught his first sermon after attaining enlightenment, and where the Buddhist ''sangha'' came into existence through the enlightenment of his first five disciples (Kaundinya, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa and Mahanama). According to the '' Mahaparinibbana Sutta'' ('' Sutta'' 16 of the ''Digha Nikaya''), the Buddha mentioned Sarnath as one of the four places of pilgrimage his devout followers should visit. Singhpur, a village approximately north of Sarnath, is believed to be the birthplace of Shreyansanatha, the 11th ''tirthankara'' of Jainism. A temple dedicated to Shreyansanatha in Sarnath is an important pilgrimage site for Jains. Etymology The name ''Sarnath'' derives from the Sanskrit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guru Rinpoche
Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According to some early Tibetan sources like the ''Testament of Ba'', he came to Tibet in the 8th century and helped construct Samye Monastery, the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. However, little is known about the actual historical figure other than his ties to Vajrayana and Indian Buddhism. Padmasambhava later came to be viewed as a central figure in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. Starting from around the 12th century, hagiographies concerning Padmasambhava were written. These works expanded the profile and activities of Padmasambhava, now seen as taming all the Tibetan spirits and gods, and concealing various secret texts ('' terma'') for future tertöns. Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124–1192) was the author of the ''Zangling-ma'' (Jewel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and '' jhana''. He di ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.'' Routledge) is a concept in Indian religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism) that represents the ultimate state of soteriological release, the liberation from duḥkha and '' saṃsāra''. In Indian religions, nirvana is synonymous with ''moksha'' and ''mukti''. All Indian religions assert it to be a state of perfect quietude, freedom, highest happiness as well as the liberation from attachment and worldly suffering and the ending of ''samsara'', the round of existence.Gavin Flood, ''Nirvana''. In: John Bowker (ed.), '' Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'' However, non-Buddhist and Buddhist traditions describe these terms for liberation differently. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union of or the realization of the identity of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Parinirvana Day
Parinirvana Day, or Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines. By some it is celebrated on 8 February, but by most on the 15 February. In Bhutan, it is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the Bhutanese calendar. It celebrates the day when the Buddha is said to have achieved Parinirvana, or complete Nirvana, upon the death of his physical body. Passages from the recitations of Nibbana Sutta or Nirvana Sutra describing the Buddha's last days of life are often read on Parinirvana Day. Other observances include meditation and visits to Buddhist temples and monasteries. Also, the day is a time to think about one's own future death and on the deaths of loved ones. This thought process reflects the Buddhist teachings on impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Jigme Singye Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་སེང་གེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 11 November 1955) is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan (Druk Gyalpo) from 1972 until his abdication in favor of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in 2006. During his reign, he advocated the use of a Gross National Happiness index to measure the well-being of citizens rather than Gross domestic product. Early life Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born in Dechencholing Palace in Thimphu, Bhutan, on 11 November 1955. to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck and ''Ashi'' Kesang Choden Wangchuck. The political officer of India stationed in Sikkim and the representative of the Sikkimese government came soon after to offer felicitations to the royal parents and to pay their respect to the newborn prince. At the age of four, sometime in 1959, the young Crown Prince received the offerings of good wishes and respects by the public, monks, and offici ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Trongsa
Trongsa, previously Tongsa (, ), is a Thromde or town, and the capital of Trongsa District in central Bhutan. The name means "new village" in Dzongkha. The first temple was built in 1543 by the Drukpa lama Ngagi Wangchuck, who was the great-grandfather of Ngawang Namgyal, Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the unifier of Bhutan. Trongsa Dzong Chökhor Raptentse Dzong at Trongsa which was built in 1644, used to be the seat of power of the Wangchuck dynasty before it became rulers of Bhutan in 1907. Traditionally the King of Bhutan first becomes the Trongsa Penlop (governor) before being named Crown Prince and eventually King. Built on a mountain spur high above the gorges of the Mangde Chhu, the dzong controlled east-west trade for centuries. The only road connecting eastern and western Bhutan (the precursor to the modern Lateral Road), passed through the courtyard of the dzong. At the command of the ''penlop'' the massive doors could be shut, dividing the country in two. Higher yet on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thruepang Palace
Thruepang Palace is a royal dzong (a form of fortress) in Trongsa District, Bhutan. The royal government of Bhutan considers it to be a historic building. History Early history Located on the hillside, the palace was considered crucial in establishing control in the early days of the kingdom. The dzong (fortress) portion was constructed in 1648. The first and second kings used the fortress to rule the kingdom from this crucial position. Modern history It is the birthplace of the third Druk Gyalpo (King) Jigme Dorji Wangchuck of Bhutan in 1928. He spent is early days growing up in the palace. This was a secondary resident and served as a, but not main, royal palace for the second Druk Gyalpo (king) Jigme Wangchuck and Queen Ashi Puntsho Choden. The Trhruepang Palace currently is still in use as a winter royal palace for the current king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. It is customary that any and future kings of Bhutan to serve as governor of the village, with his resid ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ( dz, འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་ འཇིགས་མེད་རྡོ་རྗེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་མཆོག་, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was born in 1928 in Thruepang Palace in Trongsa. At a young age, he was apprenticed in etiquette and leadership at the royal court of his father the King. Wangchuck was educated in a British manner in Kalimpong and went on study tours and stay to many foreign countries such as Scotland and Switzerland from where he drew inspiration to develop Bhutan with suitable adaptations. In 1943, he was appointed Trongsa '' Dronyer'' and then elevated as the 25th Paro ''Penlop'' in 1950, upon the death of the 24th Paro ''Penlop'', Tshering Penjor (1902–1949). Wangchuck married ''Ashi'' Kesang Choden Wangchuc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Punakha Dzong
The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa chhenbi Phodrang (meaning "the palace of great happiness or bliss"), is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second-largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures. The dzong houses the sacred relics of the southern Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Rangjung Kharsapani and the sacred remains of Ngawang Namgyal and the tertön Pema Lingpa. Punakha Dzong was the administrative center and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955 when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion. Geography The Dzong is located between the Pho Chhu (Male) and Mo Chhu (Female) river in the Punakha–valley. The source of the Mo chu river is in the northern hills of Lighsi and Laya in Bhutan, and i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |