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The Tibetans-in-Exile in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala offered special Sang-Sol (incense burning) prayers on the third day of Losar, the Tibetan new year, and prayed for the long life of the Dalai Lama and worshipped the mother nature.
Sang means incense and Sol means wake up. Tibetans also call it incense burning offering or smoke pooja. Hundreds of Tibetans gathered at the Lha Gyari temple in Dharamshala to celebrate this special occasion. They also tied colourful holy flags around this monastery and offered prayers here. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar this is the 'Wood Sanke' year 2152. Tibetans celebrate Losar for three days, however, in some regions, they also celebrate it for 15 days. Speaking to ANI, Techung, a Tibetan musician said, "This is the third day of Losar, our New Year. On the first day we have a family gathering, on second day visiting friends and on the third day, we have a very special occasion which is called Sang - Sol which is incense burning, offering smoke, essences and foods to the deities and this is a very ancient kind of Pre Buddhist sort of tradition whereby we honour the nature like water, mountains and all the spirits and this is the combination of the new year third day where the community come together to honour and respect the nature and for the abundance of rain and showers for the future." He also spoke about the importance of people tying holy flags around the monastery. He said, "These holy flags we call it lungta, they are supposed to carry your good wishes, spirits and also to honour spirits of the nature. This is basically for good luck to your family, to your beloved teachers." Tsering, a Tibetan-in-exile said, "it's the third day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. We are doing a Sang-Sol just to pray for the long life of his holiness the Dalai Lama. These flags represent four elements sky, earth, water and fire so it's just to for good luck. These are our rituals to pray for good luck and long life of the Dalai Lama." (ANI)
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