Fairs and Festivals of Sikkim

The small state of Sikkim on the foothills of the Himalayas is a beautiful unexplored religious state. Although Hindu population is also present majority of the population here is Buddhist. Festivity all over India means songs and dance along with gifts and delicacies. But Sikkim's dances are extraordinary and very much different from rest of India. The Losoong or the Sonam Losar is celebrated as the New Year around February. People rejoice and celebrate their harvest. Youth all over Sikkim have archery competitions and lama dances are held in some of the important monasteries two days prior to Losoong. These dances symbolically exorcize the evil spirits of the past year and welcome the good spirits of the coming year. Pang Lhabsol, celebrated in August is a unique Sikkim festival. The people of Sikkim worship and pray their guardian deity, the mountain of Kanchandzonga. Lamas portray the deity with fiery-red facemasks with a crown of five skulls, riding a snow lion. Tashiding Bumchu is another typically Sikkim festival.
The Bumchu is a sacred vessel whose water level foretells the luck of the year ahead. The sacred water is intact and the same fro the past three hundred years. It has not spoilt nor has it dried or evaporated. The festival takes place around January - February and continues for three days when devotees from different parts of Himalayas come for blessings and celebrations at Tashiding monastery. Sikkim is always blooming with flowers but still places like Namchi in the southern part of Sikkim holds flower festivals especially during summers. The full blossom of various Orchids, Rhodendrons and other flowers is like a colourful fiesta.