Dawa Chunipa losar.

Today, the 1st day of the 12th month, is celebrated as buelwa phuewai nyim – the traditional day of offering. The tradition of people making offerings to the Dratshang on this day seems to have been popularized as an expression of love, devotion and loyalty to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Today is also celebrated as chunipai losar – a new year. Families and entire communities, especially in Eastern Bhutan, feast and enjoy traditional sports together for several days to welcome the new agricultural season. At the end of these non-stop festivities farmers begin the hard work of preparing their fields for the new farming cycle.

About the day 

The Traditional Day of Offering has been celebrated as Losar (New Year) since Zhabdrung’s days.

It was on this day that representatives from all the regions of Bhutan offered buelwa (offerings) to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century at the Punakha dzong.  The offerings were made to express love, devotion and loyalty. Hence the day has been observed as buelwa phuewi nyim or traditional day of offering.

The penlops of Trongsa, Paro and Dagana led the people of Sharcho khorlo tsipgye (the eight eastern domains, including Trongsa, Bumthang, Lhuentse, Mongar, Trashigang, Trashiyangtse, Pemagatshel, and Samdrupjongkhar), Mangde tsho zhi (the four regions of Trongsa), Bumthang dey zhi (the four regions of Bumthang), Khengrig nam sum (the three regions of Zhemgang), Daga la gong sum (the three mountain passes of Daga) and Wang tshochen-gey (eight great clans of the Wang area, comprising the present-day dzongkhags of Thimphu, Wangdi and Punakha), and made offering to Zhabdrung in Punakha, when he first observed the day as the new-year of the country.

The chunipa losar, in the past, was celebrated for 15 days, and gave way to the great Punakha Dromchoe, a ceremony introduced to honour the two deities, Pal-Yeshay Goenpo and Palden Lhamo for their role in protecting the country from Tibetan invasions.

It is during chunipa losar that new kudrungs (discipline masters) and lopons are appointed in dzongs.

The chunipa losar was removed from the list of national holidays in the 1960s, but the late Kidu Lyonpo (home minister), Tamzhing Jagar, reinstated it, on the request of the late Semtokha principal, Lam Norbu Wangchuk.

A month after the chunipa losar comes the daw dangpai losar or the new-year on the Bhutanese calendar.  The new-year is also called the Gyalpoi losar.  This is not by royal decree, but the losar is also a day to commemorate the conquest by a Mongolian King Gyalpo Tenzin Chhogyal, popularly known as Bushkhang, over Russian provinces, east Tibet, and other local provinces.

I missed Losar this year as I am here in India far apart from Bhutan I am deeply depressed as I missed my parents, relatives, nearest and dearest ones out there in Bhutan. I was driven back to the village this morning when I woke up. I remembered my parent woke up early in the morning and wake me up telling me to wash face for Thukpa, the first phase of food for the day. Then they will cook the special food that we never eat in the year. After Thukpa I will called my friend and I remembered playing archery where my parents were proud of having son like me although I am good in nothing. I remembered I was the main singer while there was a Karey where everybody praises me.

I am emotionally sad today. I eat nothing but I have class today as I am undergoing master which I should say prestigious or some other else.  I don’t think I am matured because I always feel lonely here. May be this was the first time I am away from country Bhutan. I was in Bhutan whole day although my body was in class. I could not understand anything today what my professor taught.  Anyway I wish my Tsawai Lama and His Family, my parents, friends, relatives and dearest ones a happy CHUNIPA LOSAR.

Finally in the evening I went to Bazaar and eat chicken roll myself with full of tears……………………………. God is unfair where I am kept all alone here in India without any friend. On one part I was deeply sad that like in this samsara for filling up once stomach we have to undergo many sufferings and struggles. I am really fad up with this life.

Anyway cheer up my friends who are in Bhutan. Enjoy life as it is too short. Life is uncertain. Enjoy life when good thing happen and don’t worry when bad thing happen too. Both are impermanent and it will pass away.

 བཅུ་གཉིས་པ་ལོ་གསར་ལུ་བཀྲིས་བདེ་ལེགས་་་་་་་་་་་་་་།།