The Dalai Lama’s birthday is celebrated worldwide on July 6. This occasion is particularly significant for Tibetan Buddhists, who pray for the health and longevity of their spiritual leader. The current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was born Lhamo Thondup in July 1935 and recognized as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama in 1937. He became the political leader of Tibet at the age of 15 and later fled to India after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, establishing the Government of Tibet in Exile. While he resigned as a political leader in 2011, his birthday remains a day of reverence and celebration among his followers.