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National Flag of Bhutan The national flag of Bhutan consists of a white dragon over a yellow and orange background. The flag is divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner, making two triangles. The upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange. The dragon is centered along the dividing line, facing away from the hoist side. The upper half of the flag, which is yellow in color represents the secular authority of His Majesty the King. The lower orange half of the flag represents Mahayana Buddhism, the state religion. The dragon running diagonally across the middle of the flag is no ordinary dragon. This is the Thunder Dragon, and the country takes its name from this dragon. The indigenous name of Bhutan is Druk Yul meaning the land of the thunder dragon. The color of the dragon is white, representing the loyalty of the various ethnic and linguistic groups in the country. The country’s wealth and perfection are the jewels clasped in the dragon’s claws, protected by the strength of the deities expressed by the snaring mouth of the dragon.More details visit: www.bhutantreksandtours.com

Bhutan National Dress (Gho and Kira) Gho is the term that denotes the national dress of Bhutan for men and kira for women. It is a long robe hoisted up until it is knee-length. The hoisted cloth is held in place with a woven cloth belt called ‘Kera’ wound tightly around the waist. The hoisted up cloth forms a large pouch, in which certain items could be kept such as the traditional bowl and betel nut. Introduced during the 17th century by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, these dresses are popular among the locals and assign the Bhutanese a unique identity. More details visit: www.bhutantreksandtours.com

Kira is for women and they also wear ‘Toego’ along with Kiras, which are short and open jacket-like garments. All Bhutanese citizens are required to observe the national dress code, known as Driglam Namzha, while in public during daylight hours. It has been the law of the land and police may fine any Bhutanese who is not wearing official national dress in public. The law is said to be an effort to preserve and promote Bhutan’s cultural heritage. All Bhutanese have to wear their national dress in government offices, schools and all formal occasions. National dress code, known as Driglam Namzha.

Dzongkha ( National Language) Dzongkha is an offshoot of Tibetan language. Meaning of Dzongkha is the language spoken in the dzong. It does match to Tibetan in some ways, but uses different style of scripting.

Most people related to tourism industry can understand and speak English. In schools too, English is used to teach subjects such as mathematics, science and geography. Several local dilects are used in central, south and eastern parts of Bhutan. Study of Dzongkha is compulsory in all schools of Bhutan. The number of dialects listed in Bhutan is 24. Maximum population spoken languages in Bhutan are Dzongkha, sharshohpa and Nepali. Nepali is mainly used by the people of southern region. There are many other dialects spoken in Bhutan are in eastern country Sharshokpa, Khangpa and Kurtuepa. In north part of Bhutan is Brokpa and southern Bhutan Limbu, Santali, Tamang,Sherpa, Gurung, and even Doyas. More details visit: www.bhutantreksandtours.com

Highlight about Buddhist Festival in Bhutan 2015. Tshechu means festival (“tenth day”) is Bhutanese festivals held every year in various temples monasteries and dzongs across the country. The Tshechu is mainly a religious event celebrated on tenth day of a month of lunar calendar corresponding to the birth day of Guru Rinpoche (Guru Padmasambhava), known as second Buddha. The festival depends place to place and temple to temple, according to Bhutanses calendar. Tshechus are large social gatherings where people from various villages come together to witness the religious mask dances which are based on incidents from as long as 8th century from the life of Guru Padmasambhava. All people wear colorful dress and come with picnic lunch. There are lot of other entertainments. People come tor receive blessings from lamas. More details visit: www.bhutantreksandtours.com Black-necked Crane festival in Bhutan. It will be celebrated in the courtyard of Gangtey Gonpa, in Phobjikha valley. The black-necked crane is endangered. The festival generally includes cultural programs such as folk songs and dances (some with black-necked crane themes) and mask dances performed by the local people, crane dance and environmental related drama and songs by the school children. The festival will be organized by Phobjikha Environment Management Committee (PEMC), a local people and students. More details visit: www.bhutantreksandtours.com