New Years Celebrations Chodrak Dawa
Greetings to all,
I apologize for the lack of communication on my part lately. It has proven to be more difficult than anticipated to get my letters to you, as I have not been in a single place for more than a day at a time. As I mentioned in my previous letter, I am currently on path to a pilgrimage site that may or may not exist. In my last entry I told you that some of the village members discovered a travelogue reporting of a pilgrimage site, which is where I am currently on route to. Luckily, as Losar approaches, I have been blessed with good weather, which has made my journey a lot easier. Hopefully this good fortune continues through the New Year. Since I’m away, I’ve been doing my best to attempt to prepare for the Tibetan New Year, also known as Losar. For most, Losar is a time during which Tibetans engage in rites to purify and renew the spirit.
I may have briefly discussed this in my previous letter, but I am uncertain as to whether or not I will be returning to the village. As of the current date, I am leaning more towards not returning. It seems as if there is more fulfillment for me, as a doctor, outside the walls of the village. I am able to hone my skills more adequately and have heavily immersed myself in learning about different medicinal practices across the region. I would like to continue along the path that I am currently on and potentially obtain a formal education in medicine. For now, my future is unclear and I am taking it one day at a time. If I’m honest, it is kind of disorienting to be away from my native village during this time. This is the first time I have not prepared for and celebrated Losar without my family.
As the Tibetan New Years approaches, I have done some preparations. Seeing as in I won’t be in the village to prepare for New Years, there is not much I can do. What I will do, however, in this entry, is relive my childhood and tell you how my family and I used to prepare for Losar, the Tibetan New Year. It is the most important event in the Tibetan calendar and undoubtedly my favorite. The preparations for Losar typically last 15 days, but the three days prior to it are the most important ones.
When I was younger, my mother used to tell me stories about how the Tibetan New Years celebrations came to be. Prior to Buddhism’s arrival to Tibet, blood sacrifices were not uncommon. Of course we didn’t do this when I was younger, this is simply to give you an idea on how much our practices have evolved over the years. However, what hasn’t changed is the way we pay homage to the spirits. My parents would offer large quantities of incense to appease the local spirits and deities. They were our protectors, so we had to find a way to show them our respect.
During my childhood, it took us approximately a month to prepare for Losar. The preparations are easily some of my favorite childhood memories. My mother, father, two siblings and I would spend day and night baking pastries for everyone in the village. My favorite recipe was, and still is, that of the khapse cookies. I can almost smell them now. Thinking about them makes me hungry. My mother used a special recipe: 4 cups of flour, ½ cup of sunflower oil, 1/3 of a cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of sunflower oil. I used to love helping her make them into the nyapsha shape. When I was younger, I wasn’t very good at molding them into the proper shape, but this my skills improved over the years. I am actually quite good at this now.
I also remember helping my father paint the outside of the house, as I was the tallest of my siblings and could get to all of the hard-to-reach places. One time, I accidentally spilt the can of paint on my father’s head and he was displeased with me at the moment, but we both laughed about it later on. I am very fond of this memory. At the time, my brother was stronger than I, so he was the one who helped my father arrange the new furniture we got for our home to welcome the New Year. All of my siblings and I shared special bonding moments with our parents during this time of year. It has definitely made me appreciate the role of the teacher in a profound way.
We would also perform a ritual called the “fire puja”. Essentially, its purpose is to burn bad luck and ensure prosperity for the coming year. One year, my sister accidentally burnt herself by getting too close to the fire and I immediately rose to help bandage her wounds. I can imagine that this is where my interest in tantric medicinal practices arose. Since then, I have always had an inclination for helping the wounded and ill.
Our family would also partake in making Chang, which is liquor made from barley. We would spend the entire year harvesting the best barley for to make the perfect New Years drink. On New Years Day, we all enjoyed a humble serving of this heart-warming drink. I always hated the taste, but now, I’ve come to miss it. It reminds me of the home I once had…
The first year that my siblings and I were old enough to remember, our parents took us to the local market to see the sheep heads. They were not real ones, of course, but this was not always the case. At one point in time, actual sheep heads were cut off; they act as an offering to the deities in order to reduce bad karma. I suppose people eventually realized the cruelty of this act, so this tradition has faded for the most part.
In the days leading up to Losar, my family and I would clean the house. The kitchen always took us the longest to clean, as it is where all of the food is prepared. It is the most important location in the house, so my family and I devoted much time and effort to making sure the kitchen was spotless. Also, for three days, Tibetans of all ages and backgrounds offer prayer flags and light lamps. It was always so wonderful to see the village I grew up in light up with spirit and color during this ceremony.
On the 29th day of the 12th month of the Tibetan calendar, special ceremonies were always held at the local monasteries. We perform special rituals to help welcome in the New Year. These ceremonies carry on to the 2nd day before Losar. Most people tend to go to the monastery to give gifts to the monks. More religious ceremonies are held. When I was younger, my favorite one used to be the firecracker ceremony. Setting off the firecrackers was a way of scaring off the evil spirits lurking around. But more importantly, it sure was a lot of fun.
As we welcome the New Year, we end off the previous one with a huge feast. After the feast, gambling is not an uncommon practice. When I was younger, I would sit at the corner of the table and watch my uncles and father engage in this activity. When I was 15, I was able to join in on the fun.
The morning of Losar was always the best. My mom would always be the first to wake up. My siblings and I were always so excited to take our baths to be able to put on our new clothes. After that, my family and I always performed the traditional New Years greeting. The second thing we did on Losar was take water from the river. The first bucket of the year is seen as the most sacred and clear water. It is a symbol of purity for the coming year. We would use water from the river to make butter tea. Its main ingredients are milk, salt and butter. Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it! It’s quite the delicacy. The third thing we would do is put up the prayer flag on our roof. Our father would also make us perform this dharma dance that was supposed to remove all obstacles from our path in the coming year and bring us a good life.
Moreover, I came to discover some new Losar traditions from my travels. The village I passed through the other day has a custom of offering fragrant herbs to please the spirits of the land and sky. They told me that this ceremony has remained in their culture for centuries. It is popular for them to make this offering at the top of a mountain. The reason for this is so that the herbs have a better chance of reaching the gods, as they are being projected from a higher altitude. Also, at the end of this ceremony, they throw juniper twigs from the summit of the mountain in order to bless the village below.
All in all, I am certainly an individual with positive associations to the preparations and activities that occur during Losar. The main purpose of these preparations is to raise hope for the coming year and I fully support this. It’s a time during which the human spirit can thrive and triumph, this is something I have experienced first hand. I hope to hear back from you soon and to receive updates from the village.
All the best,
Chodrak Dawa
