Saturday, February 16, 2013

Losar


Losar, meaning New Year, is celebrated throughout Bhutan and Tibet, and mostly any other Buddhist country. It falls around February in the Christian calendar. Losar is celebrated for fifteen days, most with different rituals and customs. Losar usually falls near the Chinese New Year, but don't confuse them! Losar and Chinese New Year are completely different and are celebrated differently.
The first day of Losar is celebrated by drinking a customary alcoholic "beer", changkol.

Dances are performed by monks wearing specially made costumes with tall, (usually) yellow, spreading hats.


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tshechu

The Tshechu is a sort of festival where many beautiful dances go on and people receive blessings. There are mask dances including world record-jumps and twirls. Usually the last days of the Tshechu are the most popular; the blessings go on during that period.
There are also clowns (also masked). You can see the mask of one in the left picture (the one with the red mask with its face to you).
Occasionally, traditional Bhutanese plays are acted out, though this is uncommon, and the Tshechu consists mostly of dances.
If you plan to go to a Tshechu, wear a good hat, bring water, and be generous with sun-lotion since the Tshechu is usually conducted in the afternoon, in summer, when the sun blazes on your unfortunate shoulders.