The Lhasans celebrate more than 30 festivals in a year. Each celebrates the festivals according to his/her economic income and social status. Before the Democratic Reform in 1959, the Lhasans, who led a poor life, did their best to have fun during the festivals, which provided them with opportunities to display their talents. As a result, most festivals were entertaining. In recent years, festivals celebrated in Lhasa are more than just entertaining; they are also closely related to folklore.

The Tibetan New Year is the most important festival that the Lhasans celebrate. On the dawn of the first day of the first month, according to the Tibetan calendar, the Lhasans, donned in their holiday's best, go to fetch the new year's first bucket of water from the source of a river, holy fountain, or ancient well. The fresh water is used to worship the Buddha and make buttered tea for the New Year's Day celebration. After this, they add butter and worship statues of Buddha in the Jokhang and Romache Monasteries. When the sun has risen on the first day of the first Tibetan month, they will go into the streets holding "Chosu Qema" in their hands. They wish everyone they meet a "Happy New Year," toast each other, and sing and dance. On the second day, they go out to visit. Finally, on the third day they climb onto their roofs to replace the old colorful sutra streamers with new ones, and plant sutra streamers by the rivers and in the mountains in prayer for good luck.

The Grand Summons Ceremony is held from the 4th to the 25th day of the first Tibetan month. Lamas from the Zhaibung, Sera, and Gandain Monasteries gather mainly in the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa for the recitation of Buddhist sutras, examinations for the Buddhist academic degree of Geshi, alms given by various benefactors, religious rituals, and recreational activities. On the evening of the 15th day of the first Tibetan month, butter is added to the butter lamps before the statue of Buddha. In Tibetan, this is called Gyiaqoiba, which highlights the Grand Summons Ceremony. On Barkor Street, which wraps around Jokhang Monastery, there are many wood frames that are dozens of meters high. The wood frames are covered with numerous burning butter lamps and are hung with colorful butter sculptures in the shape of rare animals, auspicious patterns, and Buddhas, which tell religious stories and legends. They are lifelike in the flickering light. On the 25th day, there is a horse race, and on the 26th day, horsemanship and shooting are held.

The Sagya Dawa Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the fourth Tibetan month. Legend has it that Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism, was born, entered into monkhood, and passed away on this day. In memory of the Buddha, Buddhist followers take ritual walks, worship Buddha, give alms to lamas, and abstain from eating meat. The followers also visit the Dragon King Pool.

The World Smoke Sacrificial Day is the 15th day of the 5th Tibetan month. On this day, called "Choling Gyaisang Festival" in Tibetan, the Lhasans dress in their best clothes and burn aromatic plants for auspicious smoke in the White Lhamo Hall of the Jokhang Monastery, the Yaowangshan Mountain, and the Dharma Bottle Mountain to the south of the Lhasa River Bridge, in order to worship the Heavenly Deities and Guardians of Buddhist Doctrine. This is followed by a visit to lingka woods, where they sing, dance, barbecue, and breathe fresh air.

The Festival of the Ritual Walk Around Holy Mountains is held on the 4th day of the 6th Tibetan month. Called "Zhuba Ceshi'' in Tibetan, the festival marks Sakyamuni's first effort to turn the Wheel of Dharma. On this day, young men and women in Lhasa go visit mountainous monasteries in the northern suburb. They climb up the mountain for a bird's eye view of the surrounding area. Wearing "hats" made of grass, tree branches, and wild fruit, they sing Tibetan operas and roam around the mountain. Upon their return, they are greeted by their relatives with tea and wine in the Xungar Lingka and Zhachi Lingka. There, tents are put up for recreational purposes.

The Shoton (Sour Milk Drinking) Festival takes place in the early days of the 7th Tibetan month. This turns out to be the most lively festival of the year. During celebrations, the Lhasans visit lingka woods. On the 30th day of the 6th Tibetan month, the Buddha Painting Displaying Festival is held in the Zhaibung Monastery. Wearing white and blue facial masks, Tibetan opera troupes hailing from various parts of Tibet come to perform for the occasion. On the first day of the 7th Tibetan month, the Lhasans gather in the Norbu Lingka, where they drink sour milk and watch the Tibetan opera performance. This festival lasts for several days in a row.

The Ongkor (Bumper Harvest) Festival is celebrated in the 7th Tibetan month as well. In Tibetan, "ong" means "field," and "kor" means "walking around the field." During the Ongkor Festival, farmers line up and walk around their fields before beginning the harvest. Horsemanship and shooting contests, as well as circle dancing parties, are held by individual villages or townships.

The Bathing Festival is in the early part of the 8th Tibetan month. This festival lasts for seven days. During this period, the Chishan Star appears. Men and women, old and young, go bathing in nearby rivers and lakes. Legend has it that those who take a dip in the river water at this point of time will be physically strong. After the festival, autumn comes and very few people visit the lingka woods.

The Auspicious Goddess Festival takes place on the 15th day of the 10th Tibetan month. On that day, women go to worship the statue of White Lhamo Goddess in the Jokhang Monastery, and carry the statue around Barkor Street as a token of worship.

The Gandain Ngaqoi Festival is on the 25th day of the 10th Tibetan month. This was the day Zongkapa, founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, passed away. In the evening of this day, the Lhasans eat wheat dough soup and burn butter lamps on top of their houses or in front of their windows to honor the master. Hence, this celebration is also called the Butter Lamp Festival.

The Gudou Festival is on the 29th day of the 12th Tibetan month. In the evening that day, various families gather to eat wheat dough soup to bid farewell to evil and greet auspiciousness.

The Lhasans also enjoy a modern cultural life, thanks to the modern cultural recreational circle. They watch movies and TV, go to Karaoke halls, attend theatrical performances, and read books, magazines, and newspapers. Although this is very common in other cities in the world, these activities were unavailable in Lhasa in the first half of the 20th century.

Professional art troupes in Lhasa include the Tibet Song and Dance Ensemble Troupe, the Tibetan Opera Troupe, the Lhasa Municipal Tibetan Art Troupe, and the Lhasa Municipal Ballad Troupe. Famous artists include Cedain Zholma (a female singer), Dawangdui (an opera performer), and Tubdain (a balladeer), who are very loved by the Lhasans. They have performed in more than 40 countries in Asia, Europe, America, and Oceania. This arouses in these places a great interest in Tibetan culture.

Watching TV is part of everyday life for the Lhasans. Every 100 households in the city owns over 90 color TV sets in the downtown area. This rate is even higher in the suburban area. Thanks to the satellite TV ground reception stations in Tibet, the Lhasans watch the programs from the Tibet TV Station and, like their Beijing counterparts, the CCTV programs. In 1996, the Tibet Color TV Center was built to better serve the Lhasans.

In Lhasa, there are many different publications. In circulation are more than 10 newspapers, including Tibet Daily (in Tibetan and Chinese), Lhasa Evening News (in Tibetan and Chinese) and Tibetan Culture News (in Tibetan and Chinese); and many journals, including Tibetan Art (in Tibetan), Tibetan Literature (in Chinese), Tibetan Studies (in Tibetan and Chinese), Tibetan Art Research (in Tibetan and Chinese), Tibet Folklore (in Tibetan and Chinese), Tibet Mass Literature and Art (in Tibetan), Tibet Tourism (in Chinese) and Lhasa River (in Tibetan and Chinese).

There are four publishing houses in the Tibet Autonomous Region. They include the Tibet People's Publishing House, which has published more than 50 million copies of books in Chinese, Tibetan and English _ 5,000 different books in total. These books basically satisfy the needs of the Lhasans, and sell well in other parts of China and abroad as well. Through these publications, readers gain a better understanding of Tibet.

Fifty years ago, however, the Lhasans had no access to radio or TV programs, and they could not find a book or a newspaper published locally. Rumors were the only news one could get back then.