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Sho Dun Festival
Also called	Shoton Festival, Yogurt Festival, Banquet
Observed by	Tibetans, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Monpa
Type	Tibetan culture, Tibetan Buddhist
Frequency	Annual

Part of a series on
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Institutional roles Dalai Lama Panchen Lama Lama Karmapa Rinpoche Geshe Tertön Tulku Western tulku
Festivals Chotrul Duchen Dajyur Galdan Namchot Losar Dosmoche Monlam Sho Dun Losoong
Texts Kangyur Tengyur Tibetan Buddhist canon Mahayana sutras Nyingma Gyubum
Art Sand mandala Thangka Wall paintings Ashtamangala Tree of physiology Festival thangka Mani stone
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The Sho Dun Festival (Tibetan: ༄༅། ཞོ་སྟོན།; Chinese: 雪頓節; pinyin: Xuědùn Jié), commonly known as the Shoton or Yogurt Festival or Banquet since "Sho" means Yogurt and "Dun" means Banquet, is an annual festival held at Norbulingka or "Jewel Park" palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.

The festival is celebrated in the summer, from the 15th to the 24th of the 5th lunar month - usually about the middle of August, after a month's retreat by the monks who stay within their monasteries to avoid walking on the emerging summer insects and killing them.

It began in the 11th century with a banquet given by the laypeople for the monks featuring yogurt. Later on, summer operas, or Lhamo, and theatricals were added to the festivities. The operas, "last all day with clashing cymbals, bells and drums; piercing recitatives punctuating more melodious choruses; hooded villains, leaping devils, swirling girls with long silk sleeves. In the past, dancers came from all over Tibet, but today there is only the state-run Lhasa Singing and Dancing Troupe."

References

1. Service, Tribune News. "2 years on, Dalai Lama grants special audience to Tibetans". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
2. "Yogurt festival celebrated in Tibet - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
3. "Traditional Yogurt Festival kicks off in China's Tibet - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
4. "25th Tibetan opera festival begins in Dharamshala". Phayul. 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
5. Catriona Bass. Inside the Treasure House: A Time in Tibet. 1990. Victor Gollancz Ltd. paperback reprint. Rupa & Co. New Delhi, p. 201

External links

• Festivals & Events in China
• Shoton Festival Photo Gallery in Tibet
• Photos: Buddha painting unfolding ceremony in Tibet

v t e Lhasa
County-level divisions	District Chengguan Doilungdêqên Dagzê Counties Lhünzhub Damxung Nyêmo Qüxü Maizhokunggar
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Government	Doje Cezhug Jigme Namgyal

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