Losar

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title: "Losar" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["culture-of-nepal", "national-symbols-of-sikkim", "culture-of-bhutan", "symbols-of-arunachal-pradesh", "public-holidays-in-nepal", "public-holidays-in-bhutan", "new-year-celebrations", "tibetan-festivals", "religious-festivals-in-nepal", "january-observances", "february-observances", "tibetan-buddhist-festivals", "march-observances", "observances-set-by-the-tibetan-calendar", "religious-festivals-in-tibet", "religious-festivals-in-india", "festivals-in-nepal", "festivals-in-bhutan", "observances-held-on-the-new-moon"] description: "Tibetan new year" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losar" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Tibetan new year ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox holiday|"]

Field	Value
holiday_name	Losar
image	Gumpa.jpg
imagesize	300px
caption	Gumpa dance in Lachung during Losar Tibetan festival
nickname	Tibetan New Year
Losar
observedby	Tibetans, Bhutanese, Ladakhis, Sherpas, Tamangs, Monpas, worldwide Tibetan Buddhists
date2020	24 February, Rat
date2021	12 February
frequency	Annual
duration	15 days
type	Buddhism
longtype	Tibetan culture, Tibetan Buddhist, New year
significance	Symbolizes the renewal of life, prosperity, and spiritual cleansing
relatedto	Galdan Namchot, Losoong, Gyalpo Losar, Tamu Lhosar, Sonam Lhosar,
::

| holiday_name = Losar | image = Gumpa.jpg | imagesize = 300px | caption = Gumpa dance in Lachung during Losar Tibetan festival | nickname = Tibetan New Year Losar | observedby = Tibetans, Bhutanese, Ladakhis, Sherpas, Tamangs, Monpas, worldwide Tibetan Buddhists | date2020 = 24 February, Rat | date2021 = 12 February | frequency = Annual | duration = 15 days | type = Buddhism | longtype = Tibetan culture, Tibetan Buddhist, New year | significance = Symbolizes the renewal of life, prosperity, and spiritual cleansing | relatedto = Galdan Namchot, Losoong, Gyalpo Losar, Tamu Lhosar, Sonam Lhosar, | alt = | official_name = | litcolor = | celebrations = | begins = | ends = | date = | weekday = | month = | scheduling = | firsttime = | startedby =

Losar (; "new year") also known as 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). 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.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bundesarchiv_Bild_135-S-16-20-16,_Tibetexpedition,_Neujahrsfest_Lhasa.jpg" caption="Losar celebration in Lhasa, 1938" alt=""] ::

Losar predates the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet and has its roots in a winter incense-burning custom of the Bon religion. Tibetan new year is counted by the current year added to 127 BCE the year of the founding of the Yarlung dynasty. During the reign of the ninth Tibetan king, Pude Gungyal (317–398), 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 (2002: p.xvii) 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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Monk_Dancing_at_the_Tibetan_Losar_(New_Year).jpg" caption="A Tibetan monk performance during Losar at [[Domthok Monastery]] in the [[Kham]] region"] ::

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. 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:

::quote[attribution="cedar]], [[rhododendron]], and [[juniper]] branches for burning as incense. Debts are settled, quarrels are resolved, new clothes are acquired, and special foods such as ''kapse'' (fried twists) are made. A favorite drink is ''[[Chhaang"] Families prepare for Losar some days in advance by thoroughly cleaning their homes; decorating with fragrant flowers and their walls with auspicious signs painted in flour such as the sun, moon, or a reversed swastika; and preparing [[Cedrus deodara ::

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. 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. ::data[format=table]

Gregorian Year	Year of Rabjung 60-year Cycle	Tibetan Year	Losar Date***	Gender, Element, and Animal
2008	rab byung 17 lo 22	2135	February 21	Male Earth Mouse/Rat**
2009	rab byung 17 lo 23	2136	February 10	Female Earth Ox
2010	rab byung 17 lo 24	2137	March 1	Male Iron Tiger
2011	rab byung 17 lo 25	2138	February 18	Female Iron Hare/Rabbit**
2012	rab byung 17 lo 26	2139	February 8	Male Water Dragon
2013	rab byung 17 lo 27	2140	February 26	Female Water Snake
2014	rab byung 17 lo 28	2141	February 15	Male Wood Horse
2015	rab byung 17 lo 29	2142	March 6	Female Wood Sheep/Goat**
2016	rab byung 17 lo 30	2143	February 23	Male Fire Monkey
2017	rab byung 17 lo 31	2144	February 11	Female Fire Bird/Rooster
2018	rab byung 17 lo 32	2145	March 2	Male Earth Dog
2019	rab byung 17 lo 33	2146	February 20	Female Earth Pig/Boar**
2020	rab byung 17 lo 34	2147	February 9	Male Iron Mouse/Rat**
2021	rab byung 17 lo 35	2148	February 27	Female Earth Ox
2022	rab byung 17 lo 36	2149	February 17	Male Water Tiger
2023	rab byung 17 lo 37	2150	February 6	Female Water Hare
2024	rab byung 17 lo 38	2151	February 10	Male Wood Dragon
2025	rab byung 17 lo 39	2152	February 28	Female Wood Snake
::

: * 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

::data[format=table]

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
::

References

References

1. William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237–38.
2. (September 8, 2004). "Buddhism: Losar". [[BBC]].
3. Peter Glen Harle, [https://books.google.com/books?id=urbWAAAAMAAJ 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.".
4. William D. Crump, ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237: ""Different traditions have observed Losar on different dates."
5. Agrawal, Ridhi. (2 February 2025). "Khapse: A sweet believed to bring peace and tranquility".
6. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SB9mAAAAMAAJ 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."
7. Gyatso, Tenzin (1988). ''Freedom in Exile: the Autobiography of the Dalai Lama of Tibet'' (rev. ed.: [[Abacus Books]], London. {{ISBN. 0-349-11111-1
8. [[Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche]] (2002). ''Healing with Form, Energy, and Light''. Ithaca, New York: [[Snow Lion Publications]]. {{ISBN. 1-55939-176-6
9. (1996). "The Best of Photojournalism #21: 1995: The Year in Pictures". [[Running Press Book Publishers]].
10. Ligeti, Louis. (1984). "Tibetan and Buddhist Studies: Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Alexander Csoma De Koros". University of California Press.
11. [[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.
12. ANI. "Ladakh Buddhist Association celebrates 'Losar' festival in Leh".
13. "Bhutan – The Kingdom with Many New Year Celebrations".
14. James Mayer, [http://www.festival.si.edu/blog/2013/losar-community-building-and-the-bhutanese-new-year/ Losar: Community Building and the Bhutanese New Year] {{webarchive. link. (February 28, 2017 , [[Smithsonian Folklife Festival]], [[Smithsonian Institution]] (February 15, 2013).)
15. (2013-07-27). "Kālacakra Calendar".
16. "February 2010".
17. (January 5, 2011). "Losar, Nouvel An tibétain en 2011 : année 2138 du Lièvre de Fer".
18. "Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute".

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