[Buddha-l] Tibetan New Year celebrations--Nepal

[jkirk]

As Lhosar is near, thought some on the list might find this dispatch from a
friend in Nepal interesting.
Joanna
===============================================
Tashi deleg ! Preparations for the festival are already afoot. The coming
Tibetan New Year falls on the new moon of February 7th, 2008 and ushers in
the Year of the Earth-Mouse. Lhosar is a three-day festival, but feasting
goes on for weeks.
 
Preparations begin well before the arrival of the New Year. Tibetans begin
making new clothes and start preparing the special foods needed during the
festival. Khapse (flour preparations specially made for Lhosar), Chhyang
(rice beer) and Lofi (barley shoots) are some of the food required for the
celebrations. During the week leading up to the new year, lamas and monks in
monasteries perform a week-long Mahakala rite for the purpose of eliminating
all the negative accumulations of the previous year.
 
Two days before the ceremonies are to begin, the house is cleaned thoroughly
and must be completed before the 29th of the Tibetan calendar month. One of
the important preparations is the making of Guthuk, which consists of nine
different ingredients including vegetables while barley is the primary
ingredient. The dough in the Guthuk is shaped into balls and in some of
them, coal and chilly, etc. are added before cooking. Each person in the
family then opens the dough to see what his portion contains. This happens
on the 29th and is a fun event as contents like coal or chilly in the dough
is said to symbolize the person's character; coal represents an evil person
while chilly means the person is hot tempered, etc. On this day, some
monasteries feature their traditional Lama dance. Towards the end of the
day, an effigy of a demon is made and all the leftover Guthuk is poured on
it. It must then be thrown away by someone who takes it to a crossroads
nearby. This symbolizes the throwing away of all evil and bad omens. Hence,
when the person comes back to the house, he is not let in unless he brings
good news.
 
On the 3rd day of the New Year, prayer flags are put up on poles. This is an
auspicious day so such flags are put up both at home and at Boudha.
 
Around 9:30 am many people gather around the stupa for the dance
performances. The air is filled with incense smell and thousands of oil
lamps are lit. Everybody then takes barley flour and then together throw it
in the air. On this day, Tibetans are seen in their best costumes and
colorful jewelry. There is a lot of merriment as everybody starts dancing.
Best wishes for a happy and auspicious year of the Earth-Mouse. May Tibet be
free !!!

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