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Showing posts from February, 2014

Tibetan New Year; LOSAR

Tibet is known as ‘The Roof of the World’. It has the highest plateau region on earth. It neighbours China on the north and India, Nepal, and Bhutan on the south.  The country is the source of river Brahmaputra, Indus, and many other major rivers flowing to India and south Asia. It is the homeland to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and 6 million Tibetans scattered all across the globe. We have been in India as refugees for the last 60 years.             Tibetan New Year also known as Losar (‘Lo’ literally means ‘Year’ and ‘Sar’ means ‘New’) is the most important festival on the Tibetan calendar. It falls very close to the Mongolian and Chinese New Year following a lunar calendar. The festivities last for 15 days and the first three days are the most important.  This year, it falls on the 2nd of March. According to Tibetan Calendar, it will be the first day of the Wood-Horse year 2141. We go to temples and worship, hang colourful prayer flags, sing and dance. We drink ‘chang’ (fer