Losar in Baltistan ( Pakistan)

Losar 

It is the Tibetan New Year , comprising of a three-day festival that mixes sacred and secular practices,religious ceremonies, hanging prayer flags, sacred and folk dancing, and partying. But this new year celebration is not limited to Tibet only , most of the places which once formed the greater Tibet still practice this ceremony , .

Tibetans follow a lunar calendar, so the date of Losar changes from year to year . Mostly the Tibetan celebrate it in the month of February.

Losar in Baltistan

Well in Baltistan Losar has lost it's religious importance , but the people still celebrate this ceremony as a cultural and traditional festival. Losar along with other Tibetan ceremonies are kept alive in this region , as these ceremonies play an important role in the survival of Balti culture , Traditions and customs . Which is now-a-days under the influence of dominant cultures such as Arabic and Pakistani.

In Baltistan Losar is not celebrated in Februry , instead it is celebrated on 21th of December , which is also marked as the longest night of the year. The Losar in Baltistan has it's unique story to tell.

 It is said that the then King of Ladakh, Jamyang Namgyal, was preparing to fight against Baltistan forces, but was advised to wait until next year by an oracle. But the fierce ruler brought forward New Year (Losar) celebrations by a month and, hence, it was celebrated before the actual date.

From that day till now Losar has been celebrating in Baltistan and Ladakh on the eve of shortest day of the year.

Celebrations

Well in this part of the world , Losar is not celebrated in it's traditional way . All the religious ceremonies which can't be initiated without a Lama has long been abandoned by the locals . Yet the secular customs have still been retained . The bonfire and traditional Balti dance is the expression of joy to welcome winters long night of rest and to farewell summers long day of hard work.
Ma-fung Festival
Sky lanterns are lit and set free to mark the opening of this event.
It can be credited as the most important event in this festival . A large Bon fire is set at a plain area and the people start dancing while circling and rotating around this fire . Every one holds a wooden stick , which is then set to fire from one end . It is necessary that this wooden stick borrow fire from the Bonfire .  Now everyone start the traditional Balti Dance holding that torch or the wooden fire. This dance continues for several minutes . Then the fire is rotated in clockwise direction with the help of hand. Which marks as the closing of this ceremony.