Happy New Year!

Tibetan New Year (Losar Festival)

The Tibetan New year, also known as Losar, is the most important festival in the Tibetan calendar. It is celebrated over a period of two weeks during the months of December and January.Losar Festival is celebrated by Tibetan people, and is marked with ancient ceremonies that represent the struggle between good and evil, by chanting, and by passing fire torches through the crowds. The Losar festival is characterized especially by its music, dance, and a general spirit of merrymaking.During the last two days of the old year, which is called Gutor, people in Tibet begin to prepare for the New Year. The first day of Gutor is spent doing the house cleaning. The kitchen especially must be cleaned because it is where the family’s food is prepared, and hence is the most important part of the house. The chimney is also swept free of dirt. Special dishes will be cooked. On the second day of Gutar, religious ceremonies are held. People go to visit the local monastery to worship and give gifts to the monks. Tibetans also set off firecrackers to get rid of evil spirits which is lurking around.On New Year’s Day, Tibetans get up early, and put on new clothes after having taken a bath. They then worship the gods by placing offerings in the front of their household shrines. The offerings usually consist of animals and demons made from a kind of dough called torma. In addition, this day is for family members to exchange gifts. Families also have a reunion dinner, which usually consists of a kind of cake called Kapse and an alcoholic drink called chang, which is drunk to keep warm.PracticeThe Tibetan calendar consists of 12 lunar months, and Losar begins on the first day of the Tibetan month. The celebrations for the Losar begin on the 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar in Tibetan monasteries. That is the day before the Losar’s Eve. On that day, monasteries hold a special kind of ritual in preparation for the Losar celebrations. People place various ingredients such as chilies, salt, wool, rice and coal in dough balls, which are then handed out. The ingredients that one finds hidden in one’s dough ball are supposed to be a lighthearted comment on one’s character. For example, if a person finds chilie in his dough, that means he is talkative. If white-colored ingredients such as salt or rice are hid in the dough, it is believed as a good sign. If someone finds coal in his dough, it has the same meaning as finding coal in the Christmas stocking; it means that one has a “black heart”.Traditionally, on the first day of the New Year, the housewife will get up very early. After cooking a pot of barley wine for the family, she will sit beside the window awaiting the sunrise. As the first ray of sunshine of the New Year touches the nearby earth, the housewife takes a bucket and heads for a nearby river, or well, to fetch the year’s first bucket of water, which is seen as the most sacred, clearest water of the coming year. The family that fetches the first bucket of water from the river/the well is believed to be blessed with good luck for the coming year.?In Ta’er Monastery, on the first day, Lamas will hold religious celebrations, which include worshiping the God, chanting Buddhist scriptures and having a new year banquet.On the second day, people visit friends and relatives. That night, Tibetans whirl burning torches in the homes to drive away evil spirits.On the third day, Tibetans in Lhasa especially visit the local monasteries, where they make offerings. Tibetan New Year usually last 15 days.