Ladakh Fairs and Festivals, Kashmir , India

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The fairs and festivals of Ladakh present a chance to the people to rejoice and take pleasure in themselves. They work together with each other, form fresh bonds and restore the old ones. It is appealing to note that most of the fairs and festivals of Ladakh take place for the duration of winters, which is the leisure time for people. Before one plans the trip to Leh and Ladakh, one must look at major fairs and festivals of the area.

Hemis Festival
2012 : The major and the most popular festival of Ladakh is Hemis. The celebration of the festival is performed in later half of June or the first half of July. Hemis festival is celebrated to celebrate the birth of Guru Padmasambhava. The legend behind it is that he had a fight with demons in order to protect the people of Ladakh. On this very day, after each 12 years, a massive thangka, a religious icon painted or embroidered on cloth, is put on show.
Dosmoche Festival the festival of the scape goat, the celebration is performed in the second half of February to greet the New Year. A wooden mast is ornamented with streamers and religious emblem and storma, ritual figures molded out of dough, are brought out to be emitting away into the desert, or burnt. It is assumed that these scapegoats cart away the evil spirits of the previous year and the town gets rinsed for the New Year.
Losar Festival is distinguished for greeting the Ladakhi / Tibetan New Year. There is no exact date or location for this festival. It is celebrated for two weeks in December or January, which depends on the lunar calendar. For the duration of Losar, contributions are made to the gods by the Ladakhis. Plentiful ancient rituals are performed as a part of the celebrations similar to the stage fights involving good and evil, dance of the Ibex deer, dramatic battles amid the King and his ministers and many more.

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