Legends goes that Queen Maha Maya, the mother of Lord Buddha, did not live long after his birth and took rebirth in Trayastrimsa or the heaven of the thirty Gods. After attaining Enlightenment, Lord Buddha through spiritual powers came to know about the whereabouts of his mother and at the age of forty one ascended to the heavens along with thousands of his followers. Lord Buddha stayed in heaven for three months during which he delivered sermons to his mother and other
celestial beings. Lord Buddha had left behind on earth one of his disciples, Maudgalyayana, as his representative. This disciple and other devotees of the Lord could not bear the long separation and longed to hear his preaching, Maugalyayana, who possessed miraculous powers, was exhorted to go up to the heaven to request the Lord to return back to the earth. The gods were not willing to let Lord Buddha return back to earth but Maugalyana suggested that as the earthly
beings did not have the powers to visit heaven, the celestial being could come to the earth to attend his preaching. Lord Buddha finally relented and descended to the earth at a place called Sankasya along a triple ladder that was prepared especially for the occasion by Viswakarma, the God of Machines.

This festival is held on the 4th day(Tsheshi) of the 6th month(Drukpa) of the Tibetan Calendar around July or August every year.. In Gangtok, Drupka Tsheshi is marked by prayers at the Deer Park and at a secluded place called Muguthang in extreme North Sikkim. The festival is celebrated by holding a Yak race.

In fact Phang means witness. On this day, the guardian deity is portrayed by masked Lama dances as a fiery red-faced deity with a crown of five skulls, riding a snow lion. To lighten the mood of the spectators, jesters called 'Atchars' play antics during the Chaams. The third Chogyal of Sikkim, Chakdor Namgyal is credited for choreographing the Pang-Toed dance performed by monks on this day.

This festival is held on the 15th day of the 7th month around the end of August.

Guru Rimpoche's Trungkar Tshechu: On this day, Sikkimese Buddhist pay homage to the master who first blessed Sikkim as holy land, Guru Rimpoche. The master is believed to have firmly establish Buddhism in Sikkim and introduce his form of Tantric Buddhism to the Himalayas after vanquishing ‘demons’ obstructing the growth of dharma in Tibet. The day commemorates his victory over these demons and the devout believe that virtues accrued by recitation of mantras on this day are two-fold.

It falls on the last two days of the dark half of Kartik (October-November). For some it is a three-day festival.

In Sikkim the festival honours certain animals on successive days. The first day known as "Kak(crow) Tihar" is dedicated to crows and they are offered rice and some if caught are even garlanded. On the second day, which is known as "Kukkur(dog) Tihar", dogs are garlanded. On the third day the cows are honored with garlands and their horns are painted in bright colors. It is the turn of the bullocks on the fourth day. The fifth day is also known as Bhai Tika in which brothers visit the homes of their sisters and they apply tikas vermilion to each other foreheads. It is also an occasion for exchanging gifts. During Tihar, traditional carols called Bailo or Deusi are sung.

This festival associated with Lord Krishna’s birthday and is a combination of religion and celebration together. Mathura, the ancient north Indian town, is Krishna’s birthplace, and it is one of the most sacred places in the entire country. People celebrate this festival with fun, frolic, and merrymaking. The raasleelas, bhajan, kirtan, and various local functions are the special attractions of the place.

The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated during the month of August or September depending on the Indian calendar. The celebration of this festival is followed according to the Indian calendar and hence the month in the English calendar varies every year. This day also falls on the day of Shravan Poornima when the monsoon season is at its high in most of the part of India.

The festival of Holi symbolizes the victory of good over evil. It also marks the advent of spring and people celebrate it joyously with a splash of color. It is the most boisterous of all Hindu festivals, observed all over India, especially the North. It heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring. People throw colored water with pichkaari (a traditional device to spray coloured water), gubbare (balloons filled with coloured water) and gulal (colour powder) at each other and make merry. Singing and dancing add to the gaiety of the occasion.