Source: Tibet.cn

04-30-2008 20:25

Why do the Tibetan people have so many festivals? There are primarily four points to answer. First, it is due to the natural conditions. Tibet is distinguished as the Snowy Land, which has the highest elevation in the world. The harsh natural conditions threaten people's subsistence at every moment. This was especially true in the distant past. Hence, the people here have resorted to prayer to nature for existence. Such primitive worship was expressed through certain forms, gradually evolved into the festivals. Up to the present, we are still able to see the Tibetan people's worship to the celestial deities, earth deities, spirits of mountains, god of harvest and divinity of hunting, etc.

Wrestling

Second, it is out of the factor of population. Owing to the severe natural environment, the population in Tibet has been all along very small, and appeared even sparser on such a vast territory. So the people here have had stronger desires to communicate with each other and with the outsiders as well. Hence the festivals came into being to satisfy this need. If you had been wandering around the highland path for thousands of miles alone, and eventually run into a person, you would understand why the Tibetan people like to celebrate festivals so much. Meanwhile, the festivals add color to their life-long pattern monotonous work.