Losar

Origins and history

Losar developed from ancient winter incense rituals in the Bon tradition before Buddhism arrived in Tibet. The Tibetan calendar measures time from 127 BCE, marking the founding of the Yarlung dynasty under King Nyatri Tsenpo. During the fourth century, under King Pude Gungyal, these early winter customs merged with agricultural harvest rites to form the annual festival. Historically, Tibetan leaders and the Dalai Lama regularly consulted the Nechung Oracle during the holiday. Prior to 1950, celebrations commenced with state ceremonies at Namgyal Monastery honouring the protector deity Palden Lhamo. Following the exile of the Dalai Lama, public observances in Tibet faced severe disruption, while exile communities in places like Dharamsala preserved the customs.

Preparations and home rituals

Days before the new year, households carry out thorough cleanings to welcome good fortune. People decorate interior walls with auspicious signs painted in white flour, including depictions of the sun, moon, and swastikas. Outstanding debts are cleared and personal quarrels settled to begin the year peacefully. Families burn aromatic branches of juniper, cedar, and rhododendron as incense. Displays are set out in the home, including a decorative sheep head sculpted from coloured butter and a dual-chambered wooden vessel called a phyemar. This container is filled with roasted barley flour and seeds, adorned with barley ears, to express hopes for an abundant harvest.

Celebrations and regional customs

The celebration spans fifteen days, with major activities concentrated on the first three days. The opening morning begins with a warm beverage called changkol, brewed from fermented barley beer. The second day is honoured as King's Losar. Regional variations thrive throughout the Himalayas. In Bhutan, where observances trace back to a seventeenth-century fortress inauguration at Punakha Dzong, the holiday includes archery matches, dart throwing, singing, and eating sugarcane and green bananas. Sherpa communities observe the festival at high altitudes in Nepal, while Tamang communities mark Sonam Lhosar earlier. In Dharamsala, large queues of pilgrims gather to receive blessings from the Dalai Lama.

Offerings and natural elements

Rituals for Losar centre on maintaining balance with natural forces. Families visit local springs to give thanks to water spirits known as nagas, acknowledging elemental forces of earth, water, fire, air, and space. Smoke offerings are made to local spirits in the surrounding landscape. Monastic practice often includes several days dedicated to the deity Vajrakilaya beforehand. Festive tables are stocked with kapse, which are crisp fried dough twists, alongside roasted barley flour and warm chang. These practices combine sacred reverence for nature with warm hospitality among relatives and neighbours.

How Losar is kept

Before the festival, households clean rooms, paint auspicious symbols with flour, settle debts, and acquire new clothes. Ritual incense of juniper and cedar is prepared alongside decorative butter sheep heads and barley buckets. Festivities open with morning prayers, water offerings at local springs, and a warm barley drink called changkol. The first three days feature family visits, temple blessings, communal feasting on fried kapse pastries, and music. In Bhutan and Himalayan valleys, people engage in archery, dart games, and folk dances, while monastics conduct protector rituals.

When and where

Losar falls on the first day of the first lunar month of the Tibetan lunisolar calendar. Because the calendar follows lunar cycles, the date shifts annually on the Gregorian calendar, typically landing in February or March.

The festival is observed throughout the Tibetan plateau, Bhutan, Nepal, and northern Indian regions including Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. It is also celebrated in Dharamsala and Tibetan Buddhist communities worldwide.

What Losar means

Losar symbolizes the renewal of life, spiritual cleansing, and hopes for prosperity. Cleaning homes, paying debts, and reconciling disputes clear away negative influences from the past year. Offerings of barley, butter, and water express gratitude to elemental spirits and invite fruitful harvests, health, and peace for the community.

On the table

• Chang
• Changkol
• Kapse
• Tsamba
• Sugarcane
• Green bananas

Days Losar is marked

Losar dates: 2027, 2028

This date follows the moon or a local calendar and can move by a day, so check with a local source nearer the time.

Questions people ask about Losar

See also

ChristmasA festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsHalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageChristmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.DiwaliA five-day festival of lights celebrated across India and its diaspora to mark the victory of light over darkness.

Good reading and sources

• Khapse: A sweet believed to bring peace and tranquilityBBC, Article
• Khapse: A sweet believed to bring peace and tranquilityBBC, Article

• Losar on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.