Losar

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Losar (Tibetan: ལོ་གསར་; Wylie: lo gsar) is the Tibetan word for "new year." Lo holds the semantic field "year", "age"; sar holds the semantic field "new", "fresh". Losar is the most important holiday in Tibet.[1]

Losar is celebrated for 15 days, with the main celebrations on the first three days. On the first day of Losar, a beverage called changkol is made from chhaang (a Tibetan cousin of beer). The second day of Losar is known as King's Losar (gyalpo losar). Losar is traditionally preceded by the five day practice of Vajrakilaya. Although it often falls on the same day as the Chinese New Year, it is not directly connected to this holiday. However, it is related to Tsagaan sar in Mongolia and to the Korean New Year which also fall around the same time, since they are both based on similar calendars.

Losar is also the beginning of the New Year in Bhutan. The Nepalese New Year, referred to as either Losar or Lhochaar, is celebrated by the Gurung people, who usually count their age by calculating Lho.

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[edit] Losar: Year of the Earth Mouse, 2135 (Gregorian calendar 2008)

Phurbu Thinley (2008) states that:

It is time again for Tibetans around the world to celebrate their Losar; this time- the Year of the Earth Mouse 2135.

Tibetans and a section of Buddhists around the world will celebrate Losar on Thursday, February 7, 2008. The celebration normally lasts for three days, and it all means time for greetings, togetherness and abundant festivities, and time for prayers as well.[2]

[edit] History

The celebration of Losar predates Buddhism in Tibet.

The celebration of Losar can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist Bön period in Tibet. In this early Bön tradition, every winter a spiritual ceremony was held, in which people offered large quantities of incense to appease the local spirits, deities and 'protectors' (Tibetan: chos skyong; Sanskrit: dharmapalas). This religious festival later evolved into an annual Buddhist festival which is believed to have originated during the reign of Pude Gungyal, the ninth King of Tibet. The festival is said to have begun when an old woman named Belma introduced the measurement of time based on the phases of the moon. This festival took place during the flowering of the apricot trees of the Lhokha Yarla Shampo region in autumn, and it may have been the first celebration of what has become the traditional farmers' festival. It was during this period that the arts of cultivation, irrigation, refining iron from ore and building bridges were first introduced in Tibet. The ceremonies which were instituted to celebrate these new capabilities can be recognized as precursors of the Losar festival. Later when the rudiments of astrology, based on the five elements, were introduced in Tibet, this farmer's festival became what we now call the Losar or New Year's festival.

Losar is also known as Bal Gyal Lo. Bal is Tibet, Gyal is King, Lo is year. The Tibetan new year has been celebrated since the first King's enthronement celebration. It was started with the first King. That was why it has been known as Bal Gyal Lo.

Tenzin Gyatso (1998: p.233) frames the importance of consulting the Nechung 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.[3]

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):

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 the nagas, 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.[4]

[edit] Practice

The Gumpa being performed in Lachung during the Buddhist festival of Losar.
The Gumpa being performed in Lachung during the Buddhist festival of Losar.

The Tibetan calendar is made up of twelve lunar months and Losar begins on the first day of the first month. In the monasteries, the celebrations for the Losar begin on the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month. That is the day before the Tibetan New Year's Eve. On that day the monasteries do a protector deities' puja (a special kind of ritual) and begin preparations for the Losar celebrations. The custom that day is to make special noodle called guthuk. It is made of nine different ingredients including dried cheese and various grains. Also, dough balls are given out with various ingredients hidden in them such as chilies, salt, wool, rice and coal. The ingredients one finds hidden in one's dough ball are supposed to be a lighthearted comment on one's character. If a person finds chilies in their dough, it means they are talkative. If white-colored ingredients like salt, wool or rice are inside the dough it is considered a good sign. If a person finds coal in the dough it has much the same meaning as finding coal in one's Christmas stocking; it means you have a "black heart".

The last day of the year is a time to clean and prepare for the approaching New Year.[5] In the monasteries it is a day of preparations. The finest decorations are put up and elaborate offerings are made called "Lama Losar". In the early dawn of this day, the monks of Namgyal Monastery offer a 'sacrificial cake' (Tibetan: tor ma) on top of the main temple (Potala in Tibet) to the supreme hierarchy of Dharma protectors, the glorious goddess Palden Lhamo. Led by the Dalai Lama, the abbots of three great monasteries, lamas, reincarnated monks or tulku, government officials and dignitaries join the ceremony and offer their contemplative prayers, while the monks of Namgyal Monastery recite the invocation of Palden Lhamo. After the completion of this ceremony, all assemble in the hall called Excellence of Samsara and Nirvana for a formal greeting ceremony. Seated on his or her respective cushions, everyone exchanges the traditional greeting, "Tashi delek".

In order to wish His Holiness the Dalai Lama good luck for the coming year, consecrated 'sacred pills' (Tibetan: ril bu) made out of roasted barley dough are offered to him by the representatives of the three great monasteries, the two Tantric Colleges, etc. Then entertainers (garma) perform a dance of good wishes. And two senior monks stage a debate on Buddhist philosophy, and conclude their debate with an auspicious recitation composed especially for the event, in which the whole spectrum of Buddhist teaching is first briefly reviewed. A request is made to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to all holders of the doctrine to remain for a long time amongst beings in Samsara (Sanskrit) in order to serve them through their enlightened activities. The official ceremony of the day then concludes with a ceremonial farewell to the His Holiness, who then retires to his palace.

The second day of Losar is known as King's Losar (gyal-po lo-sar) because officially the day is reserved for a secular gathering in the hall of Excellence of Samsara and Nirvana. His Holiness and his government exchange greetings with both monastic and lay dignitaries, such as representatives of China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia and other foreign visitors.

Then from the third day onwards, the people and monks begin to celebrate and enjoy the festive season. In many parts of Tibet, Losar is celebrated for fifteen days or more. In India it is celebrated for three days. In other countries celebrations may be as little as one day.

The Losar is also celebrated across the Himalayas in India as well, where there is a strong concentration of the Buddhist population in the states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Himachal. The Monpa tribe of Tawang and the Memba of the Mechukha valley of Arunachal celebrate Losar. Yet strangely the Memba of Mechukha celebrate Losar one month earlier than the other Losar-celebrating peoples.

[edit] Dates

The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar. Losar is celebrated on the first through third days of the first lunar month.

Gregorian year Tibetan year Losar* element and animal
2000 2127 February 5 - February 7 male iron dragon
2001 2128 January 24 - January 26 female iron snake (or metal serpent)
2002 2129 February 12 - February 14 male water horse
2003 2130 February 1 - February 3 female water sheep (or goat)
2004 2131 January 22 - January 24 male wood monkey
2005 2132 February 9 - February 11* female wood bird (or rooster)
2006 2133 January 30 - February 1 male fire dog
2007 2134 February 18 - February 20 female fire Hog
2008 2135 February 8 - February 10 male earth Mouse
2009 2136 January 27 - January 29 female earth Bull
* Note: The start date of Losar depends on what time zone one is in. For example, in 2005, Losar started on February 8 in U.S. time zones and February 9 in Asia time zones. Some people began celebrating Losar on February 9 in the US.

[edit] References

  1. ^ BBC - Religion & Ethics - Losar
  2. ^ Venerable Salden, Namgyal Monastery (2000). The Story of Tibetan New Year. Source: [1] (accessed: Losar, 2008)
  3. ^ Gyatso, Tenzin (1988). Freedom In Exile: The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Fully revised and updated. Lancaster Place, London, UK: Abacus Books (A Division of Little, Borwn and Company UK). ISBN 0 349 11111 1
  4. ^ Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1559391766
  5. ^ About Buddhist Holy Days

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