Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237–38.), also known as the Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location tradition (Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh).Peter Glen Harle, Thinking with Things: Objects and Identity among Tibetans in the Twin Cities (Ph.D dissertation: Indiana University, 2003), p. 132: "In Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India and other areas where Tibetan Buddhism is practiced, the dates for Losar are often calculated locally, and often vary from region".William D. Crump, Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237: ""Different traditions have observed Losar on different dates." The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2025, the new year commenced on February 28 and was celebrated until March 2. It also commenced the Year of the Female Wood Snake.
The variation of the festival in Nepal is called Sonam Lhosar and is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar.Tibetan Borderlands: PIATS 2003: Proceedings of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 2003, p. 121: "Yet though their Lhochhar is observed about eight weeks earlier than the Tibetan Losar, the festival is clearly borrowed, and their practice of Buddhism comes increasingly in a Tibetan idiom."
History
Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winter incense-burning custom of the Bon religion. The Tibetan new year is counted by the current year added to 127 BCE, the year the first Tibetan king Nyatri Tsenpo founded the Yarlung dynasty. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king, Pude Gungyal (317–398 CE), it is said that this custom merged with a harvest festival to form the annual Losar festival.
The 14th Dalai Lama (1998: p. 233) frames the importance of consulting the Nechung Oracle for Losar:
Tenzin Wangyal frames his experience of Tibetan cultural practice of Losar in relation to elemental celebrations and offerings to Nāga (Tibetan: Klu): Losar is celebrated in the city of Dharamsala in India and in other Tibetan Buddhist communities.
Practice
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-Nepali equivalent 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. Because the Uyghurs adopted the Chinese calendar, and the Mongols and Tibetans adopted the Uyghur calendar, Losar occurs near or on the same day as the Chinese New Year and the Mongolian 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 at Namgyal Monastery, led by the Dalai Lama and other high-ranking lamas, with government officials participating, to honor the Dharmapala (dharma-protector) Palden Lhamo.J. Gordon Melton, "Losar" in Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations, Vol. 1 (ABC-CLIO), 2011), pp. 530–31. 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 the culture of Ladakh for Buddhists residing in that region.
In Tibet, various customs are associated with the holiday:
Losar celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar in Bhutan is called Dawa Dangpa Losar. The losar customs in Bhutan are similar to, but distinct from, customs in neighboring Tibet.James Mayer, Losar: Community Building and the Bhutanese New Year , Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Institution (February 15, 2013). Modern celebration of the holiday began in Bhutan in 1637, when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal commemorated the completion of the Punakha 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." Traditional foods consumed on the occasion include sugarcane and green bananas, which are considered auspicious. In Bhutan, picnicking, dancing, singing, dart-playing, archery (see archery in Bhutan), and the giving of offerings are all traditions.
The Dalai Lama blesses many Buddhists in Dharamsala during Losar, from the young to the old, and they form a queue to manage the number of people who visit the Dalai Lama's temple to do this.
Dates The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar. Losar is celebrated on the first through third days of the first lunar month. Gregorian Year Year of Rabjung 60-year CycleTibetan YearLosar Date***Gender, Element, and Animal2008rab byung 17 lo 222135February 21Male Earth Mouse/Rat**2009rab byung 17 lo 232136February 10Female Earth Ox2010rab byung 17 lo 242137March 1Male Iron Tiger2011rab byung 17 lo 252138February 18Female Iron Hare/Rabbit**2012rab byung 17 lo 262139February 8Male Water Dragon2013rab byung 17 lo 272140February 26Female Water Snake2014rab byung 17 lo 282141February 15Male Wood Horse2015rab byung 17 lo 292142March 6Female Wood Sheep/Goat**2016rab byung 17 lo 302143February 23Male Fire Monkey2017rab byung 17 lo 312144February 11Female Fire Bird/Rooster2018rab byung 17 lo 322145March 2Male Earth Dog2019rab byung 17 lo 332146February 20Female Earth Pig/Boar**2020rab byung 17 lo 342147February 9Male Iron Mouse/Rat**2021rab byung 17 lo 352148February 27Female Earth Ox2022rab byung 17 lo 362149February 17Male Water Tiger2023rab byung 17 lo 372150February 6Female Water Hare2024rab byung 17 lo 382151February 10Male Wood Dragon2025rab byung 17 lo 392152February 28Female Wood Snake2026rab byung 17 lo 402153February 18Male Fire Horse
* Note: Rabjung (Wylie: rab byung) is the name of the 60-year cycle of the Tibetan calendar that started in 1027 CE, and is currently in its 17th cycle. ** Note: These year names have more than one translation into English with different terms used by different groups. *** Note: Losar is celebrated by some international communities at more or less the same time it is celebrated in Asia. For example, for a year when Losar starts on February 1 in Asia time zones, it may be celebrated by some in United States time zones on January 31. Losar celebrations are normally for three days.
Variations Name Tamu Losar Gyalpo Losar Sonam Losar Ethnicity Gurung community Sherpa and Tibetan communities Tamang and Hyolmo communities Celebration Month December or January February or March December or January Days of Celebration 1 day 15 days 3 to 7 days Where is it celebrated Lamjung, Gorkha, Tanahun, and Kathmandu Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, and Solukhumbu Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, and communities in Kathmandu Festivities Cultural programs, traditional music, and family gatherings Cleaning and decorating homes, family gatherings, visiting monasteries for prayers, music, and dances Cultural events, Visiting monasteries Traditional Dances Chandi and Ghatu Ghorsey, Cham, and Syabru Tamang Selo Food and beverages Sel roti, tongba Guthuk soup and Khapse Sel roti, Gundruk, Khapse
See also Galdan Namchot Losoong Festival Lunar New Year Nepali calendar Tibetan astrology Tibetan calendar Lunar New Year: Celebrations of Lunar New Year in other parts of Asia South and Southeast Asian solar New Year: Similar Asian Lunisolar New Year celebrations that occur in April: Mayfung
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