The Losar Festival is among the most imperative celebrations celebrated in Tawang. Losar is praised by the Monpas who are a lion's share in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. Having a place with the Mongoloid stock, the Monpas are mostly into horticulture and creature farming. It should likewise be specified that Losar is the most vital celebration of the Monpas in Tawang.
Remembering the coming of the New Year, Losar is the event when the Monpas devour, drink and make joyful. Relatives and companions get together and praise this celebration in an extremely pretentious way. The celebration of Losar falls toward the finish of February or early March and is praised for 5 days. In reality, the joie-de-vivre that portrays this celebration is just entrancing.
The festival is celebrated across the entire tribal belt of Himachal Pradesh particularly in the Tibetan colonies of Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala, Solan, Rewalser and Baijnath. The festive fervor begins one month in advance and people make lots of preparations for the festival. Losar features several rituals and customs, which are performed by the Buddhists during the celebrations. It is said that the festival originated in the pre-Buddhist period in Tibet, when Bon was the religion of the country.
It is said to last 15 days but the first 3 days are the most important ones. It is mainly celebrated over a period of 3 days in late January or February, according to the Tibetan calendar. The celebrations are an amalgamation of ancient rituals, staged dance dramas, the dance of the Ibex deer and lots of music, dance and revelry for the people.
People are filled with joy and excitement on arrival of Losar. Local people clean their houses and get them painted. After that they adorn their houses with beautiful decorative items to create a joyous atmosphere. Every house and holy shrine is illuminated with colorful lights in the evening. Images of Ibex are hanged on the doors and walls of the kitchen for good luck and prosperous life. Ibex is considered as symbol of fertility.
Top Attractions : Losar festival is amongst those Indian festivals which are known widely for its rich culture and various traditional practices. Some of the major top attractions of this festival include a unique kind of mask dance style. This involves all forms of disguised appearance which is an interesting thing to watch. The other highlight of Losar cultural festivals Himachal Pradesh is the Tibetan opera and cultural ceremonies that are performed at various monasteries. Another special addition to this famous festivals of Himachal Pradesh to the overall celebration includes Padamsambhava’s marriage with local Princess at Rewalser in Mandi district.
How it is celebrated : Myriad of rituals are part of Losar, the upcoming fairs and festivals Himachal Pradesh celebrates. The first day of 15 days fest is known as ‘Lama Losar’ during which religious songs are sung in the morning. During evening people gather to worship religious deity and prepare Brang-Gyas to place before God. Chham dance is the popular dance on this occasion which is admired by people who visit Himachal Pradesh on this fest.
What people do : As per the Himachal Pradesh festival list Losar is held during the last week of February which happens to be the New Year celebration. People on this day worship Deity and offer prayers in order to gain prosperity and joy for their region during winter months. Losar is the essential part of festivals of Himachal Pradesh in February which involves various mask dance also known as ‘Devil Dance’. Losar cultural festivals Himachal Pradesh is celebrated throughout the state including Tibetan colonies at Manila, Solan, Shimla, Dharamshala and Baijnath.
Himachal Pradesh is not only a place of enchanting landscapes and mystifying woods but also colorful festivals. Through the fairs and festivals in Himachal Pradesh, the state upholds and displays to the world its rich tradition, friendly people and amazing splendours. Every month brings about a new celebration time with a wide set of Himachal Pradesh festivals. These serve the needs of social integration not only for economic sustenance but also for cultural survival. Some of these have come down hand in hand with age-old tradition while some others have developed in recent times. Generally the fairs are held at such a time when the people are free from their household engagements. In remote places when winter brings life to a standstill, the fairs, festivals and events brings the fun and frolic. Thus, these festivals and events are inseparable parts of Himachal Pradesh society. Fairs give them an opportunity to purchase and sell needed articles. Traders from far and near join these festivals to display articles like clothes, wool, pashmina, furs, leather, hides and skins, pottery, metal ware, jewellery, ornaments, fruits, vegetables and many other local products. They bring forth the religion, rituals, belief and are abound in folk songs, dance forms and other lucid expressions of the people of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal is a land of Devi and Devtas – land of gods and most of the fairs are of mythological nature. But to keep on rhythm in various walks of life, fairs have occupied predominant role and acquired varied dimensions, such as trade, agricultural, seasonal and fairs connected with festivals etc. There is hardly any village where no fair is held. There is almost continuous succession of fairs.