About Tamang Lhochhar

Sonam Lhochhar (New Year)

Sonam Lochar is an important festival of Tamang community. The festival falls in the month January and February (Magha Sukla Pakcha) Spring saeason. Like other communities, the Tamangs also celebrate their festival with great joy and religious fervor which lasts for five to fifteen days from place to place.

We Tamang are an ancient and major indigenous people of Nepal. We have unique tradition of counting year by twelve different symbols of creatures. It is said that at the time of Karunamaya Buddha's Parinirmana(Demise) those creatures had gone to farewell him except human beings because of their pre-knowledge of Lord. The Rat was at the first among them to transferred from generation to generation among Mahayan Buddhism as a wheel.

Lochhar is a combination word in Tamang Literature. It has two word Lho stands for year and Chhar for New wish we generally use in English as New year