Happy Losar! Tibetan New Year

Happy 2140, the year of the snake! Though Losar, like Chinese New Year, is generally an occasion for festivities, things for Tibetans are a little different this year. For the fifth year in a row, Lobsang Sangay, the exiled prime minister of Tibet, has asked Tibetans to tone down celebrations for the new year, in memory of those who have self-immolated in recent years (up to 99) in protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

“No one feels like dancing and singing anymore,” says Kunga Tashi, the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the Americas. In lieu of parties and feasting, he is appealing to Tibetans to mark the passage of the year with silence, candle-lighting and burning incense in memory of those who have lost their lives in protest.

Lha Gyal Lo. Bhod Gyal Lo. May all beings be happy and well, as we celebrate Tibetan New Year.

Here are some scenes from a Losar past in Labrang Monastery, Xiahe, Gansu Province.

Monks of all ages wait for morning prayers and the only meal of the day.

The trapa (novices), enter the monastery around the age of six and become gelong (monks) when they reach adulthood.

Tibetan monks in Labrang, Gansu, China.

The ciak is probably the most demanding form of pilgrimage in the world. Prostrating themselves fully,
worshippers cover tens, sometimes hundreds, of miles. Labrang, China.

Tibetan worshippers crowd the entrance to the main temple.

In busy Xiahe, close to Labrang, teens in their finery prepare to celebrate Losar, the Buddhist New Year.

Outside the Labrang monastery, many food stands sell sunflower seed, soya beans and noodles.

Once the Tangka is unfurled, the colorful image of Buddha is admired by hundreds
of people in the square at Labrang monastery, Gansu, China.