Religious festivals in Bhutan are called “Tshechu”- a Bhutanese word that literally translated to mean “10th day of the lunar month” It is Guru’s day to commemorate the birth of Guru Rinpochey. Tshechus are held annually throughout the country in different towns and villages. Every 10th day of the month of the lunar calendar is considered auspicious. Places come alive as locals gather in their finest traditional attire and partake in the celebrations of worship to receive blessings. There are ritualistic masked dances, atsaras’religious clowns’ who entertain the crowd with phallic jokes symbolic of the Tantric Buddhism. Folk dancers add richness to the colourful festivities.
The festival usually lasts three days or more, closing usually with the unfurling of the giant Thangkha (religious scroll painting). Bhutanese believe that by seeing the Thangkha, one can be delivered from bad karma.
Festival dates are all based on the lunar calendar and hence changes every year.