Tibetan New Year celebrations

A look at Tibetan New Year celebrations, also known as Losar, a Buddhist festival celebrated for 15 days. Many Tibetans are protesting the holiday this year, in protest of those who they say have suffered under Chinese rule.

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Feb. 21, 2012

Tibetan monks dressed as demons parade during a Tibetan New Year ceremony at the Yonghe Temple, also known as the Lama Temple, in Beijing. Tibetan New Year is usually a time for festivities in China's ethnically Tibetan areas, but this year, some are choosing not to celebrate after deadly unrest and a huge security lockdown. Chinese authorities have implemented what some experts say are unprecedented measures of control on vast swaths of ethnically Tibetan regions, following a wave of self-immolations by Buddhist monks and nuns.

Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 21, 2012

A Tibetan monk dressed as a ghost performs during a religious ceremony, known as "Da Gui," or beating ghost, to celebrate the Tibetan New Year, which starts Feb. 22, at Yonghe Temple. The ceremony is held annually during the Tibetan New Year, as it is believed to expel evil spirits from the monastery.

Jason Lee / Reuters

Feb. 21, 2012

Monks gather to pray at the Labrang Monastery, prior to Tibetan New Year celebrations in Xiahe county, Gansu province, China. Tibetans in northwest China marked a tense traditional new year on Wednesday with prayer, the sounding of gongs and subdued defiance in the wake of a string of self-immolations and protests against Chinese control. The traditional new year, or "Losar," is a combination of Buddhist ceremony and family celebration observed across the Tibetan highlands. But this year, unrest has overshadowed the celebrations, and there has even been a call from an exiled Tibetan leader for people to shun festivities and instead pray for those who have suffered under Chinese rule. At least 16 Tibetans are believed to have died after setting themselves on fire in protest, most of them Buddhist monks in Tibetan parts of Sichuan and Gansu provinces, next to what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

Feb. 22, 2012

Monks gather outside of a temple during Tibetan New Year celebrations in Langmusixiang, Sichuan province, China.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

Feb. 21, 2012

Tibetan monks throw a skull effigy into flames during a Tibetan New Year ceremony at the Yonghe Temple, also known as the Lama Temple, in Beijing.

Mark Ralson / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 22, 2012

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, center left, is greeted by a monk as he leaves after leading a prayer session on the first day of the Tibetan New Year at the Tsuglakhang Temple in Dharamsala, India. Tibet's exiled government in India called on Tibetans to shun celebrations for their traditional new year, which started Wednesday. Instead, Tibetans are urged to pray for those living under Chinese rule.

Ashwini Bhatia / AP

Feb. 22, 2012

Exiled Tibetan monks feed birds at the Boudhanath Stupa on the first day of the Tibetan New Year in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Binod Joshi / AP

Feb. 22, 2012

A monk looks at a Tibetan woman adding oil to a lamp at a temple located in a residential building block during the Tibetan New Year in Xining, China.

/ AP

Feb. 21, 2012

A young monk chews gum after praying at the Labrang Monastery before the Tibetan New Year in Xiahe county, Gansu province, China.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

Feb. 22, 2012

Ethnic Tibetan pilgrims walk on a road during Tibetan New Year in Langmusixiang, Sichuan province, China.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

Feb. 21, 2012

An exiled Tibetan student, left, walks with a portrait of the Dalai Lama during a protest against the Chinese government in New Delhi.

Manish Swarup / AP

Feb. 22, 2012

Exiled Tibetan students have slogans painted on their bodies as they take part in a day-long hunger strike on the first day of the Tibetan New Year at a Buddhist temple in New Delhi.

Kevin Frayer / AP

Feb. 20, 2012

Tibetan exiles shout anti-Chinese government slogans as they burn a Chinese flag at a protest in New Delhi.

Mustafa Quraishi / AP

Feb. 22, 2012

Tibetan exiles shout slogans against the Chinese government outside the Chinese Embassy on the first day of the Tibetan New Year in New Delhi.

Manish Swarup / AP

Feb. 21, 2012

A monk holds a picture of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama inside of his room ahead of the Tibetan New Year, which starts on Wednesday, at the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe county, Gansu province, China.

Carlos Barria / Reuters

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