Fairs & Festivals

Chaam: This is the famous religious masked dance performed by the lamas. On the 28th and 29th day of the 11th month the entire village of Lachen celebrate the religious dance of the gompa under the guidance of Lachen Gumchen.

Lossong: This is the Harvest festival and also the New Year of the Bhutia people. It is celebrated on the 1st day of the 12th month of the Bhutia calendar which falls sometime in January. On the first day there is a pooja performed at the main water source and the water is offered to God. The rest of the day is celebrated at home with close family members, who will wear new clothes and good food will be prepared . On the second day all the Dzumsa members meet and have a big function. After which there are sports like tug-of-war weight lifting organized for the children and end in a dance celebration.

Saga Dawa: This days signifies three great event in the life of Buddha and is celebrated worldwide by all Buddhism, here too the Lachen people observe this day at the monastery. This signifies the birth day of Gautam Buddha, day of his enlightenment and the day when he finally left this world. To mark the importance of all the three events on a single day, the festival of Saga Dawa is celebrated and considered the holiest of all the Buddhist festivals. The festival is held in the middle of June, on the 15th day of the 4th month according to the Bhutia calendar.

Lhabab Dhuchen: This festival symbolizes the descent of Lord Buddha from the heaven of the thirty three gods after visiting his mother ‘Queen Maha Maya’. The queen did not live long after the birth of lord Buddha and took rebirth in the heaven of the thirty three gods. ‘Lha’ means god in Bhutia language, ‘bab’ means descent and ‘Dhuchen’ means festival. This festival is held in the middle of November, on the 23rd day of the 9th month according to the Bhutia calendar.

Drukpa Tse-shi: Drukpa is the 6th month and Tse -shi the 4th day of the Bhutia calendar, which falls sometime in August. The festival is celebrated to mark the auspicious day on which lord Buddha first preached the four noble truths to his first five disciples at Sarnath. The first one is the noble truth of suffering, the second is the truth of the origin of suffering and delusion and their causes, third is the cessation of suffering and the forth is the truth of the eight fold part leading to Nirvana.
On this day the entire village goes to Thangu where a public meeting is convened by the Dzumsa council. The Pipon nominates a few people who have to go offer prayers in different places along with some lamas. The Muguthang and Lhashar valley celebrate this festival by holding yak races, weight lifting competition and folk dance competition between the Lachenpas and Dokpas (Tibetan herders).

Phang Lhabsol: This festival is quite unique to Sikkim and was popularized by the third king of Sikkim Chakdor Namgyal. In this festival the snowy range of Mt. Kanchendzonga is worshiped for its unifying power. The festival marks the signing of the treaty of brotherhood between the Lepchas and Bhutias. This festival is held on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Bhutia calendar which falls sometime between August and September