Every year, on the last day of Punakha Dromche, His Holiness the Je Khenpo or Venerable Dorji Lopen Rimpoche presides over the sacred ceremony of ‘serda’. ‘Serda’ is a re-enactment of an episode of war against the Tibetan invaders of the 17th century.

In 1616, when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel arrived in Bhutan, he brought with him a sacred relic ‘Rangjung Kharsapani’. The relic was so sacred that the Tibetan invaders brought war to Bhutan for the relic.

On one such occasion, it is believed that Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel performed ‘serda’ and staged that he threw the relic in the pho chhu river, when he actually threw oranges. The Tibetan invaders believing that the relic was thrown in the river left for Tibet and the war ended.