National Flag
The national flag is divided diagonally with a dragon in the middle. The upper yellow signifies the country's secular authority of the King and the lower saffron-orange signifies religion, the dragon symbolises the local name of the country Druk yul meaning Land of the thunder dragon. The jewels in the dragon's claws signifies the country's wealth.

National Dress
Bhutanese men wear the gho which is knee length and women wear the kira similiar to the Japanese kimono.

National Flower
Blue Poppy (Mecanopsis Grandis) is the national flower  it is known as 'Euitgel Metog Hoem' in Bhutan. It was once considered to be myth because of its unconfirmed existence. Poppies are found along high mountain passes from the far eastern parts of the country across to the west.

National Animal
The Takin (Budorcas Taxicolor)has a religious story associated with it. The great saint Lama Drukpa Kunley, the Divine Madman was asked to perform a miracle by the people, the saint in his usual unorthodox way, asked to be served a cow and a goat. He devoured these with relish and left only the bones. he then took the goat's head and stuck it to the bones of the cow. The animal rose to be what is now the Takin.

National Bird
The Raven (Corvus Corax Tibetanus) is depicted on the crown of the king as representative of Jarog Dongchen who, along with Yeshey Gonpo (Mahakala) and Palden Lhamo (Mahakali) constitute the most powerful deities of the country. As the Divine Trinity, they safeguarded the well - being of the kingdom and protect the king and people from harm.

National Sport
The national sport is archery with two targets at each end of a 175 yard length, each player shoots a pair of arrows going from one end to the other. A hit is scored as a two.

Tshechus are a festival honoring Guru Padmasambhava also known as Guru Rinpoche one who was born from a lotus.

Mask dances are the main attraction during the tshechu and are performed by monks and laymen. The Tshechu is a religious festival and by attending it, it is believed one gains merit. For local people , Tshechus are an occasion for reverence and blessing, feasting and socialising.

During the tshechus Bhutanese in towns and villages congregate in the dzongs, the colorful events draw thousands of locals, some of whom walk for days in order to attend. While the underlying purpose is spiritual, dances are more often like plays where good triumphs over evil or depict significant historical events.

The dancers recreate the myths and legends of Himalayan Buddhism in a swirl of color, music and mystery. You may see a magnificent procession that re-enacts the battle, masked dancers take on the aspects of peaceful and wrathful deities, fine clothes, beautiful jewels, galloping horsemen, archery contests, monks in antique silk robes and more. On the last morning, at the culmination of Bhutan's religious festival if you are lucky you might view the rare display of stunning 'Thangka' four-stories-tall silk scroll painting.

The dates and the duration of the festivals vary from one district to another but they always take place on or around the 10th of the month according to the Bhutanese calendar.

Tentative festival dates for 2007