Traditional offerings made to the gods and deities on Losar
Photo:Tibet.net
The celebration of Losar (Tibetan New Year), this year, the year of the Fire Monkey 2143, started on February 9. In Dharamshala in the early morning of the first day of Losar, monks from Namgyal monastery gathered at Tsuglakhang, the main temple in McLeod Ganj, to recite the invocation of Palden Lhamo, the official protector deity of Tibet. Representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration, including the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, members of the Kashag and Tibetan Justice Commissioners, were also present. Following the ceremony the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts performed a traditional Tibetan dance.
Traditionally, on the first day of Losar people visit monasteries to offer prayers for the upcoming New Year. Hence, later on in the morning Tibetans in Dharamshala visited Tsuglakhang to offer prayers and receive blessings.
Meanwhile, in Tibet, heightened security was in evidence for religious gatherings celebrating Losar, with large numbers of armed police at Kumbum monstery in Qinghai in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. RFA reported that Government workers in Tibetan areas were instructed to monitor Tibetan activities “both day and night” during the Monlam festival, which is held each year for two weeks following the first day of the New Year and ordered not to take time off, except under emergency circumstances.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama extended his warmest Losar greetings to Tibetans inside Tibet and in exile as well as his friends and supporters all over the world in a short video. Through his brief video message, he thanked all those who have sent him their prayers and well-wishes for his health and he assured everyone that there is nothing to worry about as far as his health is concerned.
In a recorded video message Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the political head of the Tibetan community, sent greetings to Tibetans inside and outside Tibet saying, “Losar is an important traditional festival of Tibet. Tibetans should celebrate it wholeheartedly. Moreover, older Tibetans should teach and explain the traditional religion and culture, and the ethical customs associated with Losar to the younger generation of Tibetans to preserve and promote the tradition for posterity.”
Chinese police monitoring the Tibetans on religious festival
Photo: Radio Free Asia
US Secretary of State John Kerry extended warmest greetings to the people of Himalayan region on behalf of President Barack Obama and the people of the United States, saying “The United States joins you in celebrating the history and vibrant culture of the peoples of the Himalayan region, including those in Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Tibetan areas of the People’s Republic of China”.
The office of Sarah Sewall, US Under Secretary and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues hosted a Losar celebration at the State Department attended by members of the Tibetan media and other Tibetan organisations. Sarah Sewall extended everyone Losar greetings and said that the event was organised to highlight and support the unique and rich culture of Tibet.
The Tibetan New Year is the most important festival and the biggest event of the year. In Tibet the celebration continues for 15 days but here in exile the festival goes on for only three days. These few days of festival mixes sacred and secular practices and prayers, ceremonies, hanging prayer flags, folk dancing and partying with friends and family.
The 15th day of Losar is called Chunga Choepa, and is also known as the Butter Lamp Festival. This day is a celebration of Buddha’s miracles and the victory of Sakyamuni against heretics in a religions debate. For this day, monks make sculptures of colourful flowers, symbols and figures with butter and tsampa (roasted barley flour). Sculpting yak butter an ancient Tibetan Buddhist art and monks bathe and perform purification rituals before making the sculptures which are then put on display in monasteries for Chunga Choepa. This day also marks the end of Losar
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