Rosa Tashidler!
Xiaoxin, who lives in Lhasa, wishes everyone a New Year!
The Lunar New Year in 2021 and the Tieniu New Year in the Tibetan calendar are the same day. Xiaoxin celebrated the New Year on the spot and experienced the authentic Tibetan New Year customs.
The picture shows the Potala Palace Square during the Spring Festival and the Tibetan New Year.
Photo by He Penglei
The Tibetan New Year is a traditional folk activity in Tibet, and it is a national intangible cultural heritage.
Interestingly, the Tibetan New Year is calculated based on the traditional Tibetan calendar. Sometimes it meets the Lunar New Year, and sometimes it is a month away.
If together with the Spring Festival of the Lunar Calendar, Lhasa will have a 10-day holiday. If there is a difference of one month, the people of Lhasa can enjoy the Spring Festival and the Tibetan New Year with 7 days of holiday at the same time.
The Tibetan New Year has strong ethnic and regional characteristics. Today, Xiaoxin will take you to know all kinds of Tibetan New Year goods full of ethnic characteristics and experience the authentic Tibetan New Year flavor.
Tibetan New Year's Goods for the Tibetan New Year-colorful prayer flags.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
Before the Tibetan New Year, many farmers and herdsmen began to sew multicolored prayer flags for sale in Lalu Community, Chengguan Garden, Chengguan District, Lhasa City, and so on. When the “temporary market” of multicolored prayer flags was formed, it indicated The "footsteps" of the Tibetan New Year are getting closer.
According to tradition, Tibetan people will replace the colorful prayer flags hanging on roofs, mountain tops, lakesides and other places around the third day of the Tibetan New Year to pray for good luck and good harvests in the New Year.
Colorful prayer flags on Barkhor Street in Lhasa.
Zhang Jingshe
The picture shows a craftsman kneading butter flowers.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
Ghee flower is called oil sculpture art, and it is a substitute invented by Tibetan Buddhist believers because there were no flowers for Buddha in winter.
Nowadays, butter flowers have become one of the must-have items for the Tibetan New Year in Tibet.
Xiaoxin saw that the craftsmen blended ghee into various mineral pigments, made the blanks and kneaded them by hand.
Generally, a single butter flower is decorated with gradual color petals on the top and bottom, and the sun, moon and stars, flowers, birds and beasts are set in the middle with auspicious patterns.
People in Lhasa buy butter flowers.
Photo by He Penglei
Kasai shop in Lhasa before the Tibetan New Year.
Lai Song Photo
Kasai is a Tibetan language. It is a kind of deep-fried noodles made with raw materials such as white noodles and ghee. It is a necessity for Tibetan families to entertain guests and worship gods during the Tibetan New Year.
Tibet's special new year goods-Kasai.
Lai Song Photo
Kneading the noodles, then press the mixed noodles into noodles with a machine. After cutting and coloring, they are kneaded into strips, circles, butterfly shapes and other fancy patterns. Finally, they are fried in a butter pan until golden, and when they are out of the pan , Liyou and sprinkle with sugar, the sweet, delicious and exquisite kasai is finished.
People in Lhasa buy New Year goods before the holiday.
Photo by He Penglei
"Chima" boxes at the Lhasa New Year Goods Market.
Zhang Jingshe
The Tibetan word for "Qiema" means a harvest of five grains, which means a good harvest and good luck in the coming year.
On the first day of the Tibetan New Year, people filled Chema boxes with tsampa and highland barley mixed with ghee, and then planted ghee flowers and Tibetan New Year flowers.
In order to set off the festive atmosphere, there is a Chema box that symbolizes abundance of grains on the holiday float in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.
Photo by He Penglei
Lhasa Chong Saikang "push" the sales of the New Year goods market.
Zhang Jingshe
It is reported that "Pui" is a traditional food made with a mixture of milk dregs powder, brown sugar, ghee, etc. The character "10,000" is painted on the surface, which means auspiciousness.
The picture shows "Push".
Photo by Jiang Feibo
The picture above shows the Tibetan New Year flower, which is called "Rosa Meiduo" in Tibetan. In Tibetan, "Rosa" means the Tibetan New Year and "Meiduo" means flower.
Inserting "Rosamedo" means that there will be a happy and fruitful year in the coming year.
Photo by He Penglei
Tibetan specialties for the New Year-highland barley seedlings.
Zhang Jingshe
People in Lhasa buy fresh flowers at the New Year Market.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
Lhasa Chong Saikang market milk residue.
Zhang Jingshe
People in Lhasa ushered in the "Gutu" night.
Photo by He Penglei
The 29th of December in the Tibetan calendar is the annual "Gutu" night (its grand scale is similar to New Year's Eve).
Traditional Tibetan families are reunited together, eat Gutu, and seek safety on this day.
On Gutu night, the family reunited, eating the "hometown flavor" Gutu, praying for safety, health, happiness and auspiciousness in the coming year.
Cook Gutu.
Photo by He Penglei
Interestingly, there are several representative objects in the Gutu, which represent the personality characteristics of the person who eats it. Among them, ginseng fruit symbolizes good fortune and has the meaning of blessing; wool is gentle and kind; coins represent continuous wealth for the coming year; charcoal particles It symbolizes the blackness of the heart; the chili is a bitter and mean speech.
This is also the most interesting part of the Gutu night. If you accidentally eat charcoal, chili, etc., everyone will look at each other and smile, and the atmosphere will be harmonious and warm.
Gutu will soon be on the table.
Photo by He Penglei
Fireworks at Lhasa Gutu night.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
Another important activity of Gutuye is "Exorcising Ghosts."
After eating Gutu, the family lit the torch and swept the house a few times, shouting: "All the demons, go out!" Then they threw the torch to the intersection near the door of the house, meaning exorcising evil spirits, eliminating disasters, and welcoming the new year.
The ritual of "Exorcising Ghosts" in Gutuye is similar to the exorcism of "Nian" in the Spring Festival before, and it is a unique customs in Tibet.
Nowadays, when Tibetans light torches, they also set off fireworks. The festive and peaceful atmosphere of the ancient city of Lhasa has reached its peak.
The fireworks and the Potala Palace in the ancient night.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
On the evening of February 10th, Lhasa Gutu night, the city was full of fireworks.
Photo by He Penglei
On February 11th, the Potala Palace and the snow-capped mountains in the distance were viewed after the snow.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
On February 11, New Year's Eve, Lhasa, a plateau city with an altitude of more than 3,600 meters, ushered in its first large-scale snowfall in 2021.
The "ancient city" of Lhasa was covered by snow, and the distance was white and the scenery was pleasant. The "circle of friends" of Lhasa citizens was also brushed by snow.
Since the beginning of winter, people in Lhasa have been "hoping for snow" and never expected to usher in snow on the "Gutu" Eve of the Tibetan New Year and Lunar New Year's Eve. Many citizens sigh with emotion that this snowfall implies auspiciousness, "The Year of Ruixue".
Barkhor Street in Lhasa after snowfall.
Photo by Guo Zuobin
Lhasa has beautiful scenery after snowfall.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
It is reported that on the first day of the Tibetan New Year, the people of Lhasa in Tibet also have the habit of "worshiping new year" and "going around". The host of the family greeted him with "Chema" and highland barley wine. Grab some tsampa and send them to the entrance, and then start the "three bites and a cup" drinking ritual, with a "Rosa Tashidler", greeting each other with New Year.
During the Spring Festival and the first day of the Tibetan New Year, tourists waited for the sunrise at the observation deck of the Potala Palace.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
This year, many people responded to the call for epidemic prevention, reduced the scale of gatherings, and went to the Potala Palace, Linkuo to pass prayers, chant sutras, and pray for New Year's peace, good luck, good luck, and good luck.
On the first day of the Tibetan New Year, the people of Lhasa prayed at Yaowang Mountain Qianfoyan.
Photo by Jiang Feibo
Reporter: Jiang Feibo