Tibetans gear up for Losar New Year celebrations

Losar New Year is one of the most important holidays for Tibetans. Business is booming in Lhasa, Tibet autonomous region, as Tibetans gear up to celebrate the Losar.

Stalls are swamped as people prepare to usher in the Year of the Rabbit, on Losar New Year, which will fall on Feb 21 this year. Tibetan residents in Lhasa have been busy making purchases. Stalls selling dried yak meat, wooden bowls, butter, candy, dried fruit, prayer flags and handmade pastries could be seen everywhere.

The time of Losar differs in different parts of Tibet due to different elevation and varied harvesting times. While most people mark Losar on the first day of the first month on the Tibetan calendar, some residents from the cities of Shigatse and Nagchu celebrate Losar at the start of the 12th month, while people in eastern Nyingchi and a few places in Ngari prefecture celebrate Losar in the 10th month.