LOSAR - NEW YEAR

Losar festival is celebrated to commemorate the advent of new year. It is the Ladakhi or Tibetan new year. The festival is celebrated for 2 weeks during the month of December and january as per the lunar calendar. The festival is marked with ancient rituals,the stage fights between good & evil, chanting and passing through the crowds with fire torches. The dance of the Ibex deer and the dramatic battles between the King & his ministers add to the joyous atmosphere. This festival is full of music, dancing and merry-making. Origin, Significance and LegendsKings hate to miss new year parties, too. Singme Namgyar, king of Sikkim, brought the Buddhist New Year celebrations forward by a month because he was going to be out at war on New Year's day!Even today, Sonam Losar, the Buddhist New Year festival in Sikkim, begins a month before the Buddhist New Year. Tibetans and other Buddhists in India kick off Losar festivities a month later - a week before new year's day, in fact.For all Buddhists, Losar is a sacred time and a time for feasting and celebration. It is a time to be with the family, and a time to ensure that bad omens are not carried into the new year.