Bathing Festival

Bathing Festival, commonly known as Bathing Week, is a happy holiday for Tibetan children, adults and elders to take baths in rivers and lakes. The festival lasts for seven days, which is celebarted from July 7th to July 12th according to the Tibetan calendar.

The Tibetan calendar' July is the Gregorian calendar' August or September when the early autumn is coming. In the period, snow and ice at high altitudes melt into the clean water, which flows into rivers and lakes at low altitudes along with some medical herbs in mountains. According to Tibetan books on astronomy, the water in early autumn is sweet, cool, soft, light, clean, not smelly, unharmful to throat, nor to belly. Therefore, it is said that bathing at that time is good for health. Besides taking baths, local people wash their clothes, set up big or small tents by the riverside and stay seven days there.

Bathing festival is called "Gamariji", which means Qishan star or Venus. The bathing starts when the star rises and ends when the star sets. At that time, the relatively high temperature is suitable for bathing. Tens of thousands of Tibetan people gather by the riverside, bathing, singing, dancing, playing and enjoying the natural beauties.

Besides bathing, washing clothes is also an important thing in the festival.

Children are very happy in the bathing festival.