Losar at Jhamtse Gatsal

Jhamtse Gatsal Children's Community wishes you all a prosperous Losar. May this Losar bring joy, peace, love, compassion and wisdom to one and all!

This Losar is very special, as it marks the ideation of what Jhamtse Gatsal would be according to Gen Lobsang La's vision. It's been almost 15 years that this vision continues to be in progress. Since then, every vision- driven step is a progressive actualization of our future.

At Jhamtse Gatsal, for Losar our hall is filled with extra decorations. In front of Buddha we place three beautifully molded centre-pieces of monks, surrounded by mandalas and flowers, all in breathtaking colours.

The fifteen-day long celebration involves eating sweet Tibetan biscuits, and generally celebrating. It is custom to go around to people’s houses, bringing offerings which are then blessed with Yak butter. A Khata, which is a Tibetan white cloth with auspicious symbols on it, is wrapped around the offerings and is given to the host.

What is Losar?

Losar is Tibetan for “new year.” ‘Lo‘ means year and ‘sar‘ means new. Losar is the most important festival celebrated by Tibetans all over the world.

Losar is a three day festival. On the first day celebrations are usually restricted to the family, with the second and third days being the time to visit and exchange gifts with friends and more distant relatives.

During the festival of Losar, it’s traditional to wear new clothes. People greet each other with the customary New-Year greeting of “Tashi Delek” (good luck) and visit monasteries, stupas and shrines to make offerings and donations in the form of food and other gifts to the monks and nuns. They also visit their dear ones and exchange gifts in various forms.

Preparations for Losar begin almost a month before the festival begins with the cleaning and whitewashing of homes and shopping for great feasts.

This is a time when one gets to enjoy Guthuk (soups made from different kinds of vegetables and even wine). Ingredients such as chillies, salt, wool, rice and even coal are hidden in one’s dough balls and handed out. If a person finds a chilli, he/she is considered talkative. If a person finds coal, he/she is regarded to have a ‘black heart’. Finding wood, rice etc are considered as a ‘good sign’. These are taken lightheartedly.

This is Year of the Iron Mouse of 2147 according to the Tibetan lunar calendar. Losar is welcomed with prayers and it brings with it good and auspicious energies into our homes and our lives.