Tashi Delek!!!!

Sera Jhe Health Care Committee wishes all its friends, well-wishers and sponsors a very happy Tibetan Metal Tiger Year 2137 (14^th Feb 2010).

It has been wonderful working hand in hand with all of you! Let's not only celebrate, but also repent & start afresh. Let us unite more & let Lord be with us throughout the New Year.

Tibetan New Year

Legend of Losar Celebrations
According to a Tibetan legend, an ancient Tibetan king was to go for a battle. As his eventual return from the battlefield was not sure, he chose Losar festival to be celebrated altogether. It was made mandatory for all the families to be present at the feast to celebrate the festival with mirth and revelry. All this happened in the 10th month and since then this festival is carried forward.

Tibetan New Year called Losar falls on the 1^st day of the 1^st month of the Tibetan calendar (Mostly Mid February to 1^st week of March). Losar celebrations take place over a week. At this time, larders are stocked with grain and meat. It lasts year ahead even when no work is possible at the time of winters.

Losar Celebrations
New Year celebrations in Tibet lasts for a couple of days. People eat sumptuous meals, offer prayers to their family deities and visit nearby monasteries. These celebrations begin two days before the New Year.

Gutor Celebrations
The last two days of the old year are called Gutor. It is only meant for New Year preparations. Tibetans start cleaning their houses. Special care of the 'kitchen' is taken while cleaning the house and special New Year dishes are cooked. The New Year delicacies include broth consisting of nine ingredients - rice, wheat, meat, sweet potatoes, cheese, green peppers, vermicelli, peas and radishes. Dumplings containing messages written on paper, pebbles or scraps of wood which are used to tell the future ahead are served with the broth.

On the second day of Gutor, people visit monasteries to make offerings and participate in various religious ceremonies during the day. The most popular event is the Tibetan Ritual dance called Cham where all the people gather in the evening to watch it. It symbolizes victory of good over bad. People burn Crackers to light the darkness of the New Year and to scare away the evil spirits.

New Year's Day

The first day of the New Year starts very early, people take bath and wear new clothes. Their day starts with prayers in every household. After performing religious ceremonies at home, Tibetans visit monasteries and shrines to make offerings. Later, all family members sit together to have special New Year meals. It includes Kapse (Tibetan barley biscuit) and a warm alcohol called chang (Barley wine).

Houses are decorated with flour paintings of the sun and the moon. People also make offerings to the moon for happy and prosperous life. At night, they illuminate the house with oil lamps.

On the second day of Losar, people visit their friends and relatives. Outdoor activities become the part of entertainment. People escalate the festival celebrations with traditional stage fights between good and bad. A famous dance of Ibex deer and the dramatic battles between the King and his ministers add joy to the festive mood. In the night, people whirl burning torches in their homes to cast away the evil spirits. The celebration may last even weeks.