How Tibetan People Celebrate the Tibetan New Year
The Tibetan New Year Festival, also known as Losar, is a feast for not only the Tibetan people but also the visitors. It is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. This year the Losar falls on February 19-21, 2015.
Tibetan New Year Festival Celebration
How Tibetans Celebrate Losar
On New Year’s Eve, all family members will get together to have a big dinner. They will eat “gutu,” made of beef and mutton, turnip and flour lump. What is interesting is that some stones, coins, salt, pepper, charcoal and wool are wrapped in the flour lump. When people eat, they have to be very careful to see what is in their next mouthful of food. The laughters fill the room at that time. After the dinner, they hold a ceremony to drive away ghosts.
On the first day of the New Year, the Tibetans get up early. Some even stay up through the whole night. But they could not go out so early. The first programme for them will be “scrambling for water.” According to customs, the one who gets the first barrel of water at day-break is the luckiest one of the year. Only when the morning star rises and someone shouts “Lajieluo (God wins! )”can Tibetans rush out. Another important activity in the morning is to go to the Jokhang Monastery to offer sacrifices to Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism. On this day, people must wear the most beautiful clothes and the most precious jewels.
People don’t visit each other on the first day of the year. Starting from the next day, they begin visiting relatives and friends, which will last three to five days. On the 3rd day of the 1 st Tibetan month, they offer sacrifices to the “God of Roof.” All of them climb to the roof of their house and hang the new sutra streamer. Then they burn cypress branches and throw zamba into the air. Lhasa people go in groups to the Baoping (Treasured Bottle) Mountain in the east and Chakpori (King of Medicine) Mountain in the west to stick in scripture pole and hang sutra streamer to worship the gods of mountain and water.
From the 4th day on, Tibetans start their largest religious festival – Grand Summons Ceremony, which will end on the 15th day of the 1 st Tibetan month. On the 5th day, farmers in Lhasa suburbs hold grand ceremonies to start ploughing.
According to traditions, the celebration activities on the Tibetan New Year will last 15 days. Come to visit the Tibetan New Year for yourself this year.
