About Losar
Losar is the Tibetan Buddhist new year, and in 2027 Tibetan Losar falls on Sunday, 7 February 2027, the first day of the first Tibetan month. It is kept by Tibetans in Dharamshala and the settlements, by Sikkim's Bhutia and Sherpa families and by the Monpa of Tawang. Ladakh keeps its own Losar about two months earlier, and the Tamang and Gurung new years in Sikkim and Darjeeling fall on different days again.
Lo means year and sar means new. The word is shared across the Himalaya, but the day is not. This page follows Tibetan Losar. Wishing someone on the wrong Losar is the commonest mistake, so the others come first.
Four new years called Losar
| Name | Who keeps it in India | When it falls |
|---|---|---|
| Tibetan Losar, or Gyalpo Losar | Tibetans in Dharamshala, Bylakuppe, Mundgod and other settlements; Bhutia and Sherpa families in Sikkim and Darjeeling; the Monpa of Tawang and West Kameng | First day of the first Tibetan month, in February or early March |
| Ladakhi Losar | Buddhists of Leh district, Zanskar and the rest of Buddhist Ladakh | First day of the eleventh Tibetan month, in December or early January |
| Sonam Lhochhar | Tamang and Hyolmo families in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong | The second new moon after the winter solstice, late January or February, sometimes the same day as Tibetan Losar |
| Tamu Lhochhar | Gurung families in Sikkim and Darjeeling | 15 Poush in the Nepali calendar, usually 30 December |
Sikkim's 2026 holiday notification lists Sonam Lochhar, Losar and Tamu Lochar as three separate one-day public holidays. Ladakh's administration lists its own Losar in December. Losoong, the Bhutia and Lepcha harvest new year in Sikkim, is another festival altogether.
How the date is set
The Tibetan calendar is lunisolar: months run new moon to new moon, and a thirteenth month is added every two or three years to keep pace with the seasons. Most Tibetans in India follow the Phugpa almanac, cast each year by the astrologers of the Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute in Dharamshala. Its arithmetic can skip a calendar day or repeat one, so online listings sometimes disagree by a day. Go by the Men-Tsee-Khang date.
Chinese New Year adds leap months by a different rule. The two usually land within a day of each other and occasionally a month apart: 17 and 18 February in 2026, but 29 January and 28 February in 2025.
The Tibetan year is counted from 127 BCE, the date tradition gives for the first king, Nyatri Tsenpo. Add 127 to the Gregorian year to get the Tibetan year that Losar opens. The Losar of February 2026 began the Fire Horse year 2153.
The days around Losar
The festival formally runs fifteen days, but in India most families keep three. The preparations start two days before.
- 29th of the last month · GutorCleaning, and guthuk at night
The soup has at least nine ingredients and a large dough ball for each person with something hidden inside. Afterwards a small dough figure, the lue, and the leftovers are carried to a crossroads by someone who must not look back. At Rumtek in Sikkim, monks dance the Gutor cham, good overcoming evil.
- Last day of the yearThe altar is laid
Khapse, fried dough twists, are stacked beside the chemar bo, a carved box of roasted barley and buttered tsampa. Guests take a pinch, toss it up as an offering and taste a little.
- Day 1Family and temple
Changkol, a warm drink made from chang, the barley beer, then the monastery in new clothes. At Dharamshala's Tsuglagkhang, Namgyal Monastery monks lead prayers to the protector Palden Lhamo before the Sikyong and the exile parliament.
- Day 2 · Gyalpo LosarThe King's Losar
Visits to relatives and friends, and gifts.
- Day 3Incense and prayer flags
Sang-sol, an incense offering to local deities and nature, and new lungta flags tied at temples and on hilltops.
Guthuk is the part children remember. The item in your dough ball is a joke about your character, and meanings vary by family and region. Wool usually means a soft heart, chilli a sharp tongue, coal a black heart.
Dharamshala, Sikkim, Tawang and the south
Losar is most public in Dharamshala, home of the Central Tibetan Administration. Sikkim's own festival guide points to Rumtek for the pre-Losar cham, and Bhutia families count Losar and Losoong as their two main festivals. In Tawang the Monpa hang the Tashi Dargye, the eight auspicious symbols, perform the Aji Lhamu dance and burn juniper at the monastery.
The largest Tibetan settlement anywhere is Bylakuppe in Karnataka, founded in 1961 and home to more than 70,000 Tibetans and the Namdroling and Sera monasteries. Its Losar gets far less coverage than Dharamshala's.
Losar is not always a party. In 2009 Tibetans in exile called off celebrations to mourn those killed in Tibet in 2008, and black posters in Dharamshala read "No Losar Celebrations". In 2025, after the Dingri earthquake in Tibet, the Central Tibetan Administration asked people to skip the circle dance for 49 days. In a year like that, keep your wish quiet.
Ladakhi Losar, two months earlier
Ladakh keeps Losar on the first day of the eleventh Tibetan month. The usual account, told by Reach Ladakh among others, is that King Jamyang Namgyal brought the new year forward two months in the early 17th century to celebrate before a winter campaign against Baltistan, and the date stuck. The Sangeet Natak Akademi's heritage inventory tells it differently: an oracle told the king to delay battle, and he moved the festival by one month.
Galdan Namchot, the anniversary of the teacher Tsongkhapa, comes a few days earlier, with lamps lit on houses and monasteries. On Losar eve comes metho, torches carried through Leh bazaar and village lanes with chants to drive out hungry ghosts, then thrown outside the settlement. Kitchens get dough figures of ibex, the sun and the moon, and food is set out for the deities, the ancestors and even the animals. The season lasts two weeks to a month, depending on the village.
What to write
Do
- Use "Losar Tashi Delek". Tibetans, Sherpas, Monpas, Ladakhis and Bhutias all use it.
- Ask a friend from Sikkim or Darjeeling which Losar their family keeps. Tamang families keep Sonam Lhochhar; Gurung families keep Tamu Lhochhar.
- Wish a Ladakhi friend in December. "Julley", the everyday Ladakhi greeting, is a warm way to open.
Avoid
- Don't call it Chinese New Year. It is a different calendar and often a different day.
- Don't send chang or any alcohol to a monk or nun.
- Don't assume a celebration in a year of mourning. Follow the family's lead.
Losar Tashi Delek, Tenzin. I hope the guthuk was kind to you and you didn't draw the coal. Love to everyone at home.
Losar Tashi Delek. Wishing you and your family good health and a calm, lucky year. Enjoy the three days at home.
Losar Tashi Delek. I know it isn't the same away from family. May they all be well, and may you be home for the next one.
Julley, and Losar Tashi Delek. Wishing your family a warm winter and a good year. Save me a bowl of guthuk.
Happy Sonam Lhochhar. May the year bring your family good health and many evenings of Selo and damphu.
Thinking of you this Losar. I know it is being kept quietly this time. Tashi Delek to you and everyone you are praying for.
- Losar Tashi Delek
- Happy new year. Tashi means auspicious and delek means fine or well, so it wishes good fortune and well-being
- Gyalpo Losar
- The King's Losar: the second day, and the name Sherpas use for the whole festival
- Guthuk
- Nine-ingredient soup with fortune dough balls, eaten two nights before Losar
- Khapse
- Fried dough biscuits; the name means mouth-eat
- Chang
- Barley beer, served warm; changkol is the first-morning drink made from it
- Chemar bo
- Box of roasted barley and buttered tsampa offered to guests
- Metho
- Ladakhi torch procession on Losar eve
- Julley
- Everyday Ladakhi greeting for hello, thank you and goodbye
Tamu Lhochhar falls two days before New Year's Day. Saga Dawa, the Tibetan counterpart of Buddha Purnima, does not always share its date: in 2026 Sikkim marked Saga Dawa on 31 May, four weeks after Buddha Purnima. See every date in the 2027 calendar.
How to wish someone on Losar
Losar Tashi Delek is the greeting everyone in the Tibetan Buddhist world recognises, and it carries a wish for good fortune and well-being, not achievement. Good Losar wishes talk about a clean start, health for the elders, family gathered at home and blessings for the year. Check which Losar your friend keeps before you send anything: a Ladakhi friend celebrates in December, a Tamang or Gurung friend has a separate new year, and in some years the Tibetan community marks Losar quietly in mourning.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English; Tibetan greeting Losar Tashi Delek.
When is Losar in each year?
Losar is set by the Tibetan lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
When is Losar in 2027?
Losar 2027 falls on Sunday, 7 February 2027.
What does Losar Tashi Delek mean?
Losar Tashi Delek means happy new year in Tibetan. Losar is new year, tashi means auspicious and delek means well, so the phrase wishes someone good fortune and well-being for the year ahead.
Why does Ladakh celebrate Losar in December?
Ladakh keeps Losar on the first day of the eleventh Tibetan month, about two months before Tibetan Losar. Tradition says King Jamyang Namgyal moved it forward in the early 17th century ahead of a winter war with Baltistan, and the earlier date became custom.
Is Losar the same as Chinese New Year?
No. Losar follows the Tibetan lunisolar calendar, which adds its leap months by a different rule from the Chinese calendar. The two often fall within a day of each other but can be a month apart, as in 2025, when Chinese New Year was on 29 January and Losar on 28 February.
What is guthuk and why is it eaten before Losar?
Guthuk is a soup of at least nine ingredients eaten on the night of the 29th day of the last Tibetan month, two nights before Losar. Each person's bowl holds a dough ball with a hidden item, such as wool or chilli, that jokingly describes their character, and the meal is meant to clear out the old year's bad luck.
How long does Losar last?
Tibetan Losar formally lasts fifteen days, but most families in India celebrate the first three: family and temple prayers on day one, visits on day two, and incense offerings and prayer flags on day three. Ladakhi Losar runs from two weeks to a month depending on the village.
Which Losar do Sikkim and Darjeeling celebrate?
Sikkim and Darjeeling celebrate three. Bhutia, Sherpa and Tibetan families keep Tibetan Losar in February or March, the Tamang keep Sonam Lhochhar in January or February, and the Gurung keep Tamu Lhochhar around 30 December. Sikkim declares a state holiday for each.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .