![]() Because the Uyghurs adopted the Chinese calendar, and the Mongols and Tibetans adopted the Uyghur calendar, Losar occurs near or on the same day as the Chinese New Year and the Mongolian New Year, but the traditions of Losar are unique to Tibet, and predate both Indian and Chinese influences.Īs well as that, the Sherpas are associated with Losar and enjoy Losar in the high altitudes of the Nepal Himalayan Range. Losar is traditionally preceded by the five-day practice of Vajrakilaya. The second day of Losar is known as King's Losar ( gyalpo losar). On the first day of Losar, a beverage called changkol is made from chhaang (a Tibetan-Nepali equivalent of beer). Losar is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. The Gumpa dance being performed in Lachung during the Tibetan festival of Losar Practice Losar is celebrated in the city of Dharamsala in India and in other Tibetan Buddhist communities. We call these elements earth, water, fire, air, and space. Our way of relating to the elements originated in the direct experiences by our sages and common people of the sacred nature of the external and internal elements. ![]() But they are not only projections of human fears onto the natural world, as some anthropologists and historians suggest. Beliefs and behaviors like ours evolved long ago and are often seen as primitive in the West. We made smoke offerings to the local spirits associated with the natural world around us. We made offerings to the nagas, the water spirits who activated the water element in the area. Instead, we went to the local spring to perform a ritual of gratitude. Tenzin Wangyal (2002: p.xvii) frames his experience of Tibetan cultural practice of Losar in relation to elemental celebrations and offerings to Nāga (Tibetan: Klu):ĭuring Losar, the Tibetan celebration of the new year, we did not drink champagne to celebrate. The 14th Dalai Lama (1998: p. 233) frames the importance of consulting the Nechung Oracle for Losar:įor hundreds of years now, it has been traditional for the Dalai Lama, and the Government, to consult Nechung during the New Year festivals. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king, Pude Gungyal (317-398), it is said that this custom merged with a harvest festival to form the annual Losar festival. Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winter incense-burning custom of the Bon religion. The variation of the festival in Nepal is called Lhosar and is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar. It also commenced the Year of the Male Iron Rat. The new year commenced on the 24th of February and celebrations ran until the 26th of the same month. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location ( Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India) tradition. Losar ( Tibetan: ལོ་སར་, Wylie: lo-sar "new year" ) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism.
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