Monlam Prayer Festival

The Tibetan festival Monlam Monlam or Chenmo ( Tib: lam chen mo smon ), the celebration of the Great Tibetan prayer shortly after the Tibetan New Year ( Losar ) is their greatest religious event of the year. It goes back to a 1409 by Tsongkhapa in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism founded tradition.

Usually from 4 to 11 January following the Tibetan calendar, in the three great monasteries in Lhasa on 3 or 4 January to 25 January of the Tibetan calendar, gather before the Shakyamuni - portrait in the sanctuary Jokhang Buddhist monks from the monasteries of Drepung, Sera and Ganden and other pilgrims offer prayers, recite sutras and debating. Examination for Geshe ( the highest degree scholar of Tibetan Buddhism) are held.

The highlight is the ceremony of " sunning of the Buddha ", in which a 30 x 20 m large thangka is unfurled with a Buddha image on a hillside.

It is also celebrated in the monasteries in Amdo Labrang and Rongwo Gönchen. In the time of this festival several smaller Tibetan festivals, including the Festival of release trapped animals on the 8th and the Butter Lamp Festival falls ( Chötrul Düchen ) on January 15, according to the Tibetan calendar.