Galdan Namchot is a festival celebrated in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and many regions of Himalaya, particularly in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

, India. It is to commemorate the birth as well as parinirvana (death) and the

Buddhahood In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point ...

of Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419 AD), a famous Scholar/teacher of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

whose activities led to the formation of the

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

school of

. Galdan Namchot also marks the beginning of the new year celebrations in Ladakh.

History

Je Tsongkhapa was born in the city of Tsongkha in

Amdo Amdo ( �am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the ...

(present-day

Haidong Haidong (; Wylie: Haitung) is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the (Qinghai) Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture () into a prefecture-level city. Haido ...

and

Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and w ...

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

) in 1357. He was a famous teacher of

whose activities led to the formation of the

school of

.''Heart Jewel: The Essential Practices of Kadampa Buddhism'', p. 3, Tharpa Publications (2nd. ed., 1997) On the twenty-fifth day of the tenth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar, ''Galdan Namchot'' is celebrated to commemorate birthday and

of Je Tsongkhapa. Galdan Namchot also marks the beginning of the

new year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

(which falls after five days of the Galdan Namchot festival and continues till the '' Dosmoche festival'' in February). Ladkahi's follow the Tibetan lunar calendar. Historically Losar, thereby Galdan Namchot were celebrated in the twelfth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar. Owing to a war in

Skardu , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan , pushpin_label_position ...

during reign of Raja Jamyang Namgyal (1595–1616 AD), Ladakh started celebrating Losar two months before in the tenth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.

Celebrations

As a part of the ''Galdan Namchot'' festival,

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

and residential buildings are lit up. Butter lamps are also lit up which symbolizes the annihilation of darkness. Traditional dishes such as

Thukpa Thukpa (Tibetan: ཐུག་པ ; ne, थुक्पा; IPA: /tʰu(k̚)ˀ˥˥.pə˥˥/ ) is a Nepali and Tibetan noodle soup, which originated in the eastern part of Tibet. ''Amdo thukpa'' (especially '' thenthuk'') is a famous variant among ...

Momo Momo may refer to: Geography * Momo (department), a division of Northwest Province in Cameroon * Momo, Gabon, a town in the Woleu-Ntem province of Gabon * Momo, Piedmont, a town in the province of Novara, in northern Italy * Joffrey Tower, in ...

and Butter tea is prepared and served in households. ''Khatak'', a traditional ceremonial scarf is gifted by Ladakhi people.

Schedule

Since Ladakh follows the Tibetan lunar calendar and Galdan Namchot festival comes on the twenty-fifth day of the tenth month Tibetan calendar, every year the festival falls on different dates of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

References

{{New Year by Calendar Buddhist holidays December observances Festivals in India New Year in India Indian culture New Year celebrations Observances set by the Tibetan calendar Public holidays in India Buddhist festivals in India Culture of Ladakh Tibetan festivals Religious festivals in Tibet Festivals in Mongolia Festivals in Nepal

History

Celebrations

Schedule

See also

References