Losar Tibetan New Year - Lhasa

Losar, the Tibetan New Year is known to be the most important festival in Tibet. It's an occasion of familial reunification and the annual banishing of evil spirits. Preparations for the festival events include special offerings to shrine deities, painted doors with religious symbols, and days of feasting and drinking.

One of the festival highlights includes a night of banishing evil spirits which is observed on the fifth evening of the festival. New Years participants will light torches and circle the homes, yelling loudly to ward off evil spirits that could bring any bad luck. Before dawn on New Year's Day, housewives get their first buckets of water for their homes and prepare breakfast. After breakfast, people dress up to go to monasteries and offer their prayers. People visit their neighborhoods and exchange their Tashi Delek blessings in the first two days. Feast is the theme during the occasion. On the third day, old prayer flags are replaced with new ones.

Links

• Website: http://festivals.iloveindia.com/losar/index.html