This is a “how-to” guide for Tibetan New Year, Losar, to help you celebrate the lunar new year as Tibetans do all over the world.

The first day of Losar in 2023 will fall on February 21. By the Tibetan calendar, this will be the first day of the Water Rabbit year of 2150.
Losar-related rituals are actually divided into two quite distinct parts. First, we close out the old year and bid goodbye to all its bad aspects and negativities, with activities that center on the eve of the last night of the year, the 29th day – Nyi Shu Gu – of the Tibetan calendar. Only after that do we turn our attention to welcoming the Losar – the “new year” – and inviting all good, auspicious things into our homes and our lives.
Here are a bunch of posts telling you, and sometimes showing you with video, how Tibetans celebrate Losar:
Losar-related rituals in Tibet and celebrated by Tibetans all over the world are actually divided into two quite distinct parts.
First, we close out the old year and bid goodbye to all its bad aspects and negativities, with activities that center on the eve of the last night of the year, the 29th day – Nyi Shu Gu – of the Tibetan calendar.
Only after that do we turn our attention to welcoming the Losar – the “new year” – and inviting all good, auspicious things into our homes and our lives.
Learn how Tibetans celebrate Losar with these how-to posts, videos and recipes:
Khapse Recipe: How to Make Tibetan Losar Pastries
Lobsang Wangdu teaches you how to make the most common and simple Losar khapse, called nyapsha. With video.
Open your Generous Heart: Create a Losar Shrine
In Tibetan homes the Losar altar serves as a prominent, central symbol of a wish to cultivate a generous heart and to invoke beautiful blessings into the lives of our family, friends and community for the New
Khapse Recipes: Bulug
As part of a series on the traditions of Losar, Tibetan New Year, here is a recipe for bulug, which is a fairly fancy type of the new year pastries collectively called khapse.
Tibetan Butter Sculptures — Tsepdro — for Losar
The making of tsepdro — the kind of Tibetan butter sculpture commonly created at Losar (Tibetan New Year)
Insider’s Guide to Losar Eating
An introduction to Tibetan New Year food traditions leading up to Losar, including preparing Losar pastries called khapse, the Eve of New Year’s Eve soup called guthuk, and the chemar bo.
Vegetarian Guthuk Recipe
Warm, wonderful, hearty veg version of the recipe for the popular guthuk noodle soup traditionally eaten at the end of the year.
Changkol: To Start Losar Morning off Right
Try some changkol, as Tibetans do, for the first dish you eat on the first day of Losar, Tibetan New Year.
Nyi-shu-Gu Traditions: The Eve of New Year’s Eve
Rituals for purifying your home and body in the closing days of the old year, including the fun guthuk noodle soup, and the lue, the effigy that symbolizes all the negativity we want to be rid of.
Dresil Recipe: Easy Tibetan Sweet Rice
Learn an easy, authentic recipe for the Tibetan sweet rice served at Losar and other special occasions.
Tibetan Chang: How to Make Rice Beer
Kelsang shows you, with a video, an authentic, easy recipe for drechang, Tibetan rice beer.
Tsampa: It Doesn’t Get More Tibetan Than This!
An introduction to the most uniquely Tibetan food, tsampa. At Losar, we use tsampa for the chemar bo, for the changkol (khapse and chang dish which we will post about shortly), and to eat on the first day of Losar.
Butter Tea – Recipe to Make Your Own Tibetan Tea (Po Cha)
Modern version of a traditional Tibetan tea recipe by Lobsang Wangdu. Tibetans traditionally drink a bunch of po cha during Losar, though that isn’t exactly special, since they drink po cha all the time anyway.
Thue: An Original Tibetan Treat
Learn how to make thue, a sweet, cheesy, buttery treat often eaten at Losar and other special occasions.
Momos — Recipe for Tibetan Dumplings
The most well-known and beloved of Tibetan dishes, momos are popular at Losar parties, though traditionally we do not eat them on the first day of Losar, as the closed shape is considered inauspicious for that day.
Want to be ready to travel to Tibet?

Sign up to get instant access to our FREE Tibet Travel Planning Guide that shows you exactly how to:
- Get your visa and Tibet permits
- Avoid altitude sickness
- Choose a reliable, Tibetan-owned agent
- And much more…so you can feel peace of mind about your trip, and have a great, safe journey!
Along with instant access to your free, comprehensive online guide for planning your Tibet travel, you will also get our weekly newsletter, with tips, tools and strategies for simple, safe and meaningful Tibet travel.
Les amis de Sherpagaun says
Very happy to discover this page.
darja says
Thank you both for this-your page!!!
Darja
dhondup Shola says
Tashi Delak,
thanks for sharing and it helps me a lot,
Justin downs says
Beautiful,breathtaking nothing more to say
Laura says
Can you update this article with the Losar dates for 2015? Thanks so much!
yowangdu says
We updated the Loasr page. Thanks letting us know about the update.
Yangchen says
Tashi Delek,
Could you explain why we keep and display dummy Sheep head and Green wheat or maize plant (Luphu)? This question been often asked.
In my understanding it is from Bonpa tradition or nomads offering gratitude for given good crop and livestock and looking forward for better one year ahead.
Please clarify. Thank you.
yowangdu says
Hi Yangchen,
We don’t know 100% for sure, but we agree that the Sheep head and Luphu are very likely traditions coming down from nomadic and/or farmers’ and perhaps Bon traditions related to the abundance of crops and herds. If you understand Tibetan, here is a very interesting explanation of the history, in which the speaker says that even the kapse of the derkha represent very old traditions of putting actual sheep’s head and/or bones on the shrine — so the bungu amchoe, for example, which we relate to donkey’s ears, are meant to represent large bones! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEE_hWQ9Igk
Martine says
WOW! What beautiful altar! I sincerely rejoice, thank you for sharing . M
yowangdu says
Thank you, Martine! All our best to you!