Tibetan New Years (Losar) begins at the crack of dawn by making offerings to the protective deities and the spirits of the natural world - the 5 elements of earth, water, fire, air and space- to express our gratitude for their protection.
We visit the holiest temples and monasteries to pay homage and receive blessings. The secular celebration includes decorating our homes with the auspicious signs and symbols for the year ahead and laying out our best rugs that have been stored away for special occasions. We dress in silk and brocade and the ladies wear their finest jewelry. Special Losar foods must include kapse , fried handmade cookies made in intricate designs. The dinner table is laid out with lavish dishes that includes plenty of special yak meat dishes ; boiled dried yak tongue, boiled and chilled yak lungs, homemade stuffed sausages… and all our favorite drinks – including fermented sweet barley or rice chang, served sweet and warm.
For entertainment, there is plenty of dancing, story telling and the game of sho or dice that can always be counted on to raise the noise level and merriment of the celebration. Living in Hanover, New Hampshire with only our family of four, we celebrate Losar with great joy and gratitude in our hearts with friends from our new community of friends in America,
Tashi Delek