Bon’s festive calendar pulses with rituals that weave together ancient shamanic echoes and Buddhist refinement. A few highlights:

1. Tibetan New Year (Losar) with Bon Flavors
   • Gutor (12th lunar month, days 29–30): When the winter chill bites hardest, Bon communities drive out evil spirits with roaring fire offerings, thunderous drums and herbal smoke. Homes sparkle as sin-dispelling dances summon fresh blessings.
   • Zhao Peng (1st lunar month, day 1): “Out with the old, in with the new” takes on real magic when lightning-shaped incense sticks are lit, symbolizing a bright bolt of fortune for the coming year.

2. Tonpa Shenrab’s Triple Commemoration
   • Birth (3rd month, day 25), Enlightenment (6th month, day 25) and Parinirvāṇa (9th month, day 25): Each full-moon gathering honors Bon’s founder with three days of chanted mantras, elaborate butter-lamp displays and sky burials for ritual objects. Across Dolanji’s Menri Monastery—home to Bon’s spiritual leadership—the recent 2025 celebrations saw pilgrims from Nepal and beyond forging new bonds around ancient flaming torches.

3. Saga Dawa (4th month, full moon)
   Although celebrated more widely in Buddhist circles, Bon temples join the action, offering tormas (ritual cakes), long-life prayers and charity feasts. The shared devotion underscores centuries of cross-pollination between traditions.

4. Monlam Bon (Great Prayer Festival; 2nd month)
   Modelled on Tibet’s grand monastic assemblies, this week-long event unites hundreds of monks for collective liturgies, philosophical debates and healing ceremonies. In recent years, Menri and Yungdrung Ling communities have livestreamed parts of Monlam Bon, opening its hush-filled halls to a global audience.

5. Nyungne Retreats
   These two-day fasting and meditation marathons pop up throughout the year, especially at Maratika Cave in Nepal. Devotees cling to pre-dawn sessions, balancing austerity with the infectious warmth of communal vows.

Every Bon festival bridges sky-borne prayers and earthbound joys. As snowmelt trickles through temple courtyards, the faithful—young and old—dress in vibrant silks, strike ceremonial horns and gather to honor not only the invisible forces that shape their world, but also a living tradition that continues to evolve, even in the digital age.