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July 6th is:
Birthday of the Dalai Lama
This celebration is held on July 6 for the birthday of the current
Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political head of Tibet. The name Dalai
means “ocean” and was given to the ruling lama in the 16th century by
the Mongol leader Altan Khan. The title suggests depth of wisdom.
The present Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), who was enthroned
in 1940 at the age of five, is the latest in the line that began in the
14th century. Each Dalai Lama is believed to be the reincarnation of
the preceding one, and when a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan lamas search
throughout the country for a child who is his reincarnation.
Tibet had been a sovereign country until 1949 when China invaded
eastern Tibet and sporadic warfare followed. In 1959, a popular
uprising exploded at Lhasa but was suppressed, and the Dalai Lama and
most of his ministers and about 80,000 Tibetans escaped across the
Himalayas. The Dalai Lama has lived since then in exile in Dharmsala,
India. Today there are some 80,000 Tibetans in India, 30,000 in Nepal,
and 3,000 in Bhutan.
The birthday is observed today by exiles in India with
incense-burning ceremonies to appease the local spirits, family
picnics, and traditional dances and singing. The incense burning is a
rite pre-dating Buddhism. From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary | 
