The Losar Labor of Love

Drolma Gadou — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 05:06:22 +0000

The Losar Labor of Love Drolma Gadou Fri, 03/21/2025 - 23:06

Tsering Lhamo

The CU Losar event, held on March 5th in the Guggenheim building, was co-sponsored by the Tibet Himalaya Initiative, the Department of Geography, and the Department of Anthropology.

This year’s Losar, or Tibetan New Year celebration, welcomed over 100 attendees.

The event officially began with opening remarks from Professor Carole McGranahan and Professor Emily Yeh. In remembrance of those affected by the recent Dingri earthquake, everyone in attendance observed a moment of silence.

Following this, a CU Tibetan student gave a brief presentation on Losar and its diverse celebrations across the Himalayas. The CU Tibetan students, with the support of Little Lama’s Café at Naropa University, prepared all the food for the event.

The spread included a variety of traditional Tibetan dishes such as dresil (sweet rice with dried fruits and nuts), momos (dumplings), khapse (fried Tibetan cookies), sweet tea, and more.

In the weeks leading up to Losar, six CU Tibetan students along with friends from the community and the geography department dedicated combined 18 hours individually—9 hours making khapse and another 9 hours crafting momos. It was truly a labor of love, shared with their peers in celebration of the New Year.

Throughout the evening, participants engaged in various cultural activities, including lungta-making, zodiac animal fortunes, Himalayan art coloring, and guthuk fortune playdoh balls.

The night concluded with a lively gorshey, or circle dance, bringing the community together through dance.

Off

Traditional

White

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 21:41:22 +0000

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 02/27/2023 - 14:41

On February 24^th, 2023, the University of Colorado Boulder ushered in the new Tibetan year of the Water Hare with Losar celebrations. Losar (ལོ་གསར་) meaning New Year in Tibetan is celebrated widely across the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, India, and Bhutan. Taking place on ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ campus for the second time, this year’s Losar cultural program was jointly organized by the Center for Asian Studies (CAS), the Tibet Himalaya Initiative, Department of Anthropology, and the Anderson Language and Technology Center.

The event started with the serving of the ceremonial sweet rice (dresi) – an auspicious food symbolizing prosperity and good fortune— Tibetan butter tea, chai, and Tibetan Losar cookies (khabsey). The khabsey was prepared by the CU Tibetan students with the support and sponsorship of the local Boulder-based Tibetan-owned Cafe, Little Lama Cafe located at Naropa University.

CAS Tibetan Teaching Professor Tenzin Tsepak commenced the Losar celebrations by giving a brief background of Losar and its importance in Tibetan culture. This was followed a simultaneous Tibetan and English reading of a short Tibetan story titled ‘The Hero of the Grassland’ by Gavin Shoew, a first-year Tibetan language student. Aidan Euler, an intermediate Tibetan language student presented on the meaning of the ubiquitous Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hun (ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ། ). David Kwei, an intermediate Tibetan language student, presented a short biography of Tibetan writer and poet Gungthang Dawei Lodro, followed by a short poetry reading.

Following the presentations by the Tibetan language students, Samdup, a CU Tibetan student, gave an emotive performance of the Tibetan song titled ‘Samten Lhundup.’ A jovial group performance by the CU Tibetan students through the unity song ‘Ngatso De La Zom Zom’ recharged much enthusiasm into the audience. The event was emceed energetically by Tsering, another CU Tibetan student.

After the closing remarks from Professor Emily Yeh, who encouraged CU students to continue their pursuit of Tibetan and Himalayan studies, the Losar program concluded with dinner catered from Little Lama Café and gorshey (Tibetan circle dance). In the last thirty minutes of the program, students and faculty alike filled the dance floor to learn and bond through Tibetan dance. The evening ended with footsteps beating to the rhythm of the communal dance, sounds of vibrant laughter, and smiling faces. This cultural event brought together CU students, faculty, and the Tibetan community to celebrate and learn about Tibetan and Himalayan culture. The event was attended by 70-80 people, more than double that of last year.

Off

Traditional

White

News & Updates

The Losar Labor of Love

Off

����������ý�Ļ���Ʒ Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit

Off

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ Tibetan Losar 2023 Celebration— A Big Hit