Lhosar

Losar is a Tibetan word literally meaning New Year. “Lo” means year and “Sar” means New. It is a fifteen day festival celebrated in Tibet. In the first day of the celebration Changkol, a sort of beverage is made. The festive occasion coincidentally falls nearly on the same day of the Chinese New Year. But both of them are culturally very different. In Bhutan although different regions have different New years still Losar is celebrated in Bhutan by many.Losar FestivalOrigin and HistoryThe origin of Losar is not properly known but records say that it can be dated back before the advent of Buddhism in Tibet. In those times in winter a spiritual custom was held where people burned and offered huge numbers of Incense please spirits and the God. This custom later evolved as an annual Buddhist festive occasion. It is said that this festival began when an old woman called Bhelma showed how to measure time by measuring phases of moon. The festival generally occurs during flowering of the apricot trees and is believed to have first celebrated as a traditional farmers festival. Later when the principles of Astrology was was introduced to Tibet, this festival came to be popularly known as Losar. Losar, also popularly known as Bal Gyal Lo. Bal meaning Tibet, Gyal means king and Lo literally means year. This festival is known as Bal Gyal Lo because started after the first king came into throne. Celebration and traditionLosar generally begins on the tibetian New year eve. The monasteries do a special puja for the protector’s deity and start the preparation for the beginning of the festival. A special kind of noodle prepared with nine different ingredients called ghutuk is a special custom of this festival. Also a tradition is that dough balls with items such as chilies, coal, salt, rice etc each reflecting a particular nature find in various persons, are hidden in them. Finally the New year eve is a to make it clean for the coming year. In the monasteries very fine decorations are put and offerings called Lamar Losar are made. The 2nd day is called King’s Losar and it is officially reserved for mass gathering. From third onwards people greet each other and celebration of the festival begins.