Tsetor on the first day of Losar at Tsuglakhang
Photo: DIIR
Losar (Tibetan New Year) celebrations in the exiled Tibetan community in Dharamshala began early on February 19, the first day of Losar, the female Wood Sheep Year – 2142. The official gathering at Tsuglakhang, the main Tibetan Temple in the town, saw monks of Namgyal Monastery and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration carry out the Tsetor (the official prayer ceremony).
In a recorded video message, Sikyong Dr Lobsang Sangay, the political head of the Tibetan community, called upon the Tibetans to remember all those Tibetans martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Tibet. Sikyong also said that the New Year is dedicated as the Year of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he turns 80 this year. In the Tibetan culture, turning 80 is a celebrated event in one’s life, especially in the traditional Amdo and Kham provinces of Tibet. The people there have a special tradition of marking the 80th birth year of their spiritual teachers and family members, and paying special respect to them.
Celebrations as the Dalai Lama turns 80:
With the lunar New Year, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the exiled head of Tibet, turned 80. Despite the Chinese government’s ban, Tibetans in Ngaba, Golok, Labrang, Rebkong and Chentsa counties in Amdo region in the north-east of Tibet, and in Kardze and Minyak counties in Kham in the south-east, openly marked His Holiness’s 80th birth year. Videos from Tibet showed thousands of Tibetans gathered for public ceremonies while many also observed the event privately at home.
Tibetans celebrate at Se monastery in Ngaba
Photo: RFA
Life-size portraits of His Holiness were placed on the traditional thrones as thousands of Tibetans lined-up to offer khataks (traditional scarves). The Tibetans also threw Lung-ta* (Wind-horse) leaflets and tsampa (roasted barley flour) in the air, a traditional act of celebration. Some places made grand fireworks display too.
Free Tibet, a UK based advocacy group released a video that shows a group of Tibetans throwing tsampa at police cars in a high-spirited celebration, and photographs of smiling police officers covered in tsampa. “Because of the celebrations and holiday in Tibet, we haven’t been able to confirm where or when the photos and video were taken”, says the Free Tibet website. It is also not known whether such grand and open displays of loyalty and reverence to the Dalai Lama resulted in hard-end repercussions. A large number of military troops were deployed in some of the places where prayers were held.
Tibetans burn wild animal skins in Yunnan
Photo: RFA
Tibetans in a village in Dechen county in China’s Yunnan province, however, chose a different way to celebrate Losar. The villagers burned animal furs used in clothing items, vowing to give up wearing furs and skins as the Dalai Lama made appeals to people to stop using them and to protect endangered animals in Tibet. “The Tibetans had kept animal-skin clothes as rare and valuable family possessions. However, they became aware of the objections of the Dalai Lama and of local Tibetan Buddhist leaders who advised them not to use them,” a source told Radio Free Asia.
Losar festivities in the US and around the world:
Sarah Sewall with Tibeatns at the US State Department’s reception for Losar
Photo: ICT
For the first time ever, the United States State Department observed the Tibetan New Year celebration in Washington DC. Nearly a hundred dignitaries, officials and staff from various government and non-government organisations in the area attended the reception hosted by the State Department. Sarah Sewall, Under Secretary of State and also the Special Co-ordinator of Tibetan Affairs, told the gathering that the first time ever celebration of Tibetan New Year at the State Department was long over-due and hoped it becomes an annual event from now on. Lodi Gyari Rinpoche, the former Special envoy to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, explained the symbolism of Losar to the Tibetan people, and expressed appreciation to the State Department for the reception as the US Government’s implementation of its policy “to assist in preserving the distinct religious, cultural and linguistic heritage of Tibetan people.”
Losar was celebrated around the world by Tibetans with traditional and religious ceremonies including visiting temples, performing Sang-sol (incense burning), prayers and other rituals.
In Delhi, the capital of India, senior Indian dignitaries including Mr Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Ravi Thakur, MLA of Himachal Pradesh, and Shri Tsering Namgyal Shanu, member of minority commission and Buddhist representative, joined the Tibetans in the Samyeling Tibetan Settlement (Majnu-ka-Tilla) in their Losar celebration, restating their continued support for the Tibetan cause.
Losar, the Tibetan New Year is traditionally celebrated by Tibetans, to find out more click here: https://contactmagazine.net/articles/february-2013/losar-the-tibetan-new-year/
Note: This article was written in 2013 when the Tibetan government-in-exile made the request not to celebrate Losar that year to demonstrate solidarity with, and mourning for, the people who had self-immolated inside Tibet, and for the continuing repression in Tibet.
* The flying of Lung-ta is believed to bring peace, wealth, and harmony
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