| Losar | |
|---|---|
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| Also called | Tibetan New Year Losar |
| Observed by | Tibetans,Bhutanese,Ladakhis,Sherpas,Tamangs,Monpas, worldwideTibetan Buddhists |
| Type | Tibetan culture,Tibetan Buddhist,New year |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Galdan Namchot,Losoong,Gyalpo Losar,Tamu Lhosar,Sonam Lhosar, |
| Part ofa series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
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Institutional roles |
History and overview |
Losar (Tibetan:ལོ་གསར་,Wylie:lo-sar; "new year"[1]) also known asTibetan New Year, is a festival inTibetan Buddhism.[2] The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location (Tibet,Bhutan,Nepal,India) tradition.[3][4] The holiday is anew year's festival, celebrated on the first day of thelunisolarTibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in theGregorian calendar.[1] In 2025, the new year commenced on February 28 and celebrations will run until March 2. It also commenced the Year of the Female Wood Snake.[5]
The variation of the festival in Nepal is calledSonamLhosar and is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar.[6]
Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winterincense-burning custom of theBon religion. Tibetan new year is counted by the current year added to 127 BCE the year of the founding of the Yarlung dynasty. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king,Pude Gungyal (317-398), it is said that this custom merged with aharvest festival to form the annual Losar festival.[1]
The14th Dalai Lama (1998: p. 233) frames the importance of consulting theNechung Oracle for Losar:
For hundreds of years now, it has been traditional for the Dalai Lama, and the Government, to consult Nechung during the New Year festivals.[7]
Tenzin Wangyal (2002: p.xvii) frames his experience of Tibetan cultural practice of Losar in relation to elemental celebrations and offerings toNāga (Tibetan:Klu):
During Losar, the Tibetan celebration of the new year, we did not drink champagne to celebrate. Instead, we went to the local spring to perform a ritual of gratitude. We made offerings to thenagas, the water spirits who activated the water element in the area. We made smoke offerings to the local spirits associated with the natural world around us. Beliefs and behaviors like ours evolved long ago and are often seen as primitive in the West. But they are not only projections of human fears onto the natural world, as some anthropologists and historians suggest. 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. We call these elements earth, water, fire, air, and space.[8]
Losar is celebrated in the city ofDharamsala in India[9] and in other Tibetan Buddhist communities.
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Losar is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. On the first day of Losar, a beverage calledchangkol is made fromchhaang (a Tibetan-Nepali equivalent ofbeer). The second day of Losar is known as King's Losar(gyalpo losar). Losar is traditionally preceded by the five-day practice ofVajrakilaya. Because theUyghurs adopted theChinese calendar, and the Mongols and Tibetans adopted the Uyghur calendar,[10] Losar occurs near or on the same day as theChinese New Year and theMongolian New Year, but the traditions of Losar are unique to Tibet, and predate both Indian and Chinese influences.
As well as that, the Sherpas are associated with Losar and enjoy Losar in the high altitudes of the Nepal Himalayan Range. Prior to the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, Losar began with a morning ritual ceremony atNamgyal Monastery, led by theDalai Lama and other high-rankinglamas, with government officials participating, to honor theDharmapala (dharma-protector)Palden Lhamo.[11] After the Dalai Lama was exiled, many monasteries were destroyed and monks imprisoned. Since that time, Tibetan Buddhist practice in Tibet has been difficult to observe publicly.
Losar forms part of theculture of Ladakh for Buddhists residing in that region.[12]
In Tibet, various customs are associated with the holiday:
Families prepare forLosar some days in advance by thoroughly cleaning their homes; decorating with fragrant flowers and their walls with auspicious signs painted in flour such as the sun, moon, or a reversedswastika; and preparingcedar,rhododendron, andjuniper branches for burning as incense. Debts are settled, quarrels are resolved, new clothes are acquired, and special foods such askapse (fried twists) are made. A favorite drink ischang (barley beer) which is served warm. Because the words "sheep's head" and "beginning of the year" sound similar in Tibetan, it is customary to fashion a sheep's head from colored butter as a decoration. Another traditional decoration that symbolizes a good harvest is thephyemar ("five-grain bucket"), a bucket with a wooden board that creates two vertical halves within. This bucket is filled withzanba (also known astsamba, roastedqingke barley flour) and barley seeds, then decorated with barley ears and colored butter.[1]
Losar celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar in Bhutan is calledDawa Dangpa Losar.[13] The losar customs in Bhutan are similar to, but distinct from, customs in neighboring Tibet.[14] Modern celebration of the holiday began in Bhutan in 1637, whenZhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal commemorated the completion of thePunakha Dzong with an inaugural ceremony, in which "Bhutanese came from all over the country to bring offerings of produce from their various regions, a tradition that is still reflected in the wide variety of foods consumed during the ritual Losar meals."[14] Traditional foods consumed on the occasion includesugarcane andgreen bananas, which are considered auspicious.[14] In Bhutan, picnicking, dancing, singing,dart-playing, archery (seearchery in Bhutan), and the giving of offerings are all traditions.[14]
The Dalai Lama blesses many Buddhists in Dharamsala during Losar, from the young to the old, and they form aqueue[9] to manage the number of people who visit the Dalai Lama's temple to do this.
TheTibetan calendar is alunisolar calendar. Losar is celebrated on the first through third days of the firstlunar month.
| Gregorian Year | Year of Rabjung 60-year Cycle | Tibetan Year | Losar Date*** | Gender, Element, and Animal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | rab byung 17lo 22 | 2135 | February 21 | Male Earth Mouse/Rat** |
| 2009 | rab byung 17lo 23 | 2136 | February 10 | Female EarthOx[15] |
| 2010 | rab byung 17lo 24 | 2137 | March 1 | Male IronTiger[16] |
| 2011 | rab byung 17lo 25 | 2138 | February 18 | Female Iron Hare/Rabbit**[17] |
| 2012 | rab byung 17lo 26 | 2139 | February 8 | Male WaterDragon |
| 2013 | rab byung 17lo 27 | 2140 | February 26 | Female WaterSnake |
| 2014 | rab byung 17lo 28 | 2141 | February 15 | Male WoodHorse |
| 2015 | rab byung 17lo 29 | 2142 | March 6 | Female Wood Sheep/Goat** |
| 2016 | rab byung 17lo 30 | 2143 | February 23[18] | Male FireMonkey |
| 2017 | rab byung 17lo 31 | 2144 | February 11 | Female Fire Bird/Rooster |
| 2018 | rab byung 17lo 32 | 2145 | March 2 | Male EarthDog |
| 2019 | rab byung 17lo 33 | 2146 | February 20 | Female EarthPig/Boar** |
| 2020 | rab byung 17lo 34 | 2147 | February 9 | Male Iron Mouse/Rat** |
| 2021 | rab byung 17lo 35 | 2148 | February 27 | Female EarthOx |
| 2022 | rab byung 17lo 36 | 2149 | February 17 | Male WaterTiger |
| 2023 | rab byung 17lo 37 | 2150 | February 6 | Female WaterHare |
| 2024 | rab byung 17lo 38 | 2151 | February 10 | Male WoodDragon |
| 2025 | rab byung 17lo 39 | 2152 | February 28 | Female WoodSnake |
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