Buddhist New Year in Cambodia. New Year for Buddhists: how and why
In late winter - early spring, on the new moon, the new year begins according to the Eastern calendar. The date of the celebration is calculated according to the lunar calendar by Buddhist astrologers.
Due to differences in astrological calculations, the dates of the holiday in different countries may not coincide. For example, in Russia it comes later than in Asian countries.
When is New Year 2019 for Buddhists?
Buddhist New Year Sagaalgan 2019, or, as it is also called, the White Month Festival, will be celebrated on February 5.
Buddhist New Year Celebration Traditions
We will tell you about how Buddhists celebrate the New Year. This holiday is celebrated for a month, and all this time is considered favorable for carrying out cleansing rituals.
On the twenty-ninth day according to the lunar calendar, a ritual bonfire "Dugzhuuba" is set up in the monasteries, in which all the enemies of the faith are burned. The ceremony is held two days before the New Year.
Believers begin preparations for the celebration by cleaning the apartment and yard. Purity symbolizes the purity of people's thoughts. During the rite of gutor, all the bad things that have accumulated over the year are removed from every house and soul of a person.
The ceremony is performed by a lama invited to the house with the participation of all family members.
According to established traditions, on the Buddhist New Year, after a festive meal, the remnants of food, along with coins, rags and a candle, are placed in a large bowl.
There is also a hadak - a scarf that is given to guests during a greeting - and a figurine in the form of a person (torma) sculpted from dough and painted in red.
In the evening, these items are carried to a vacant lot by the road and thrown away. At the same time, they turn to evil with the words: "Get out of here!" Then people, without looking back, quickly return home.
How do Buddhists celebrate New Year?
At this time, solemn services are held in the temples. Three days before the holiday, a prayer service is performed dedicated to the dharmapalas - ten deities-protectors of the Doctrine.
Believers revere the goddess Sri Devi (Tibetan name Baldan Lhamo), who is considered the patroness of the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. To receive her blessing, you need to stay up until six in the morning, attend prayer services in the temple, or recite mantras and practice at home.
On New Year's Day, solemn services - khurals - are held in churches all day and night, after which the abbot congratulates the believers.
Buddhist New Year Sagaalgan is considered one of the main and important calendar holidays. It is celebrated in Buryatia, Tuva, the Trans-Baikal Territory and in Altai and Kalmykia, where its first day is a day off.
Talking about how Buddhists celebrate the New Year, I must say that it is customary to spend the first day with the family. The head of the family should be the first to greet the sunrise with gifts from the family.
Gifts are presented to the spirit of the area with a request for the well-being of all those close to them. Starting from the second day, people visit each other. All relatives, friends and neighbors are invited to the festive table.
Celebration of Sagaalgan, photo from the site of the Center for Culture of Indigenous Peoples of the Baikal Region, etno.pribaikal.ru
In general, in the international family of residents of Irkutsk and the region, many people celebrate and celebrate the New Year according to the lunar calendar. Sagaalgan - the holiday of the White Month is a symbol of the renewal of man and nature, and its ideals of peace, good neighborliness, respect for elders are shared by representatives of all nationalities.
Sagaalgan begins from the first spring new moon. Unlike our usual New Year, which we celebrate at midnight from December 31st to January 1st, Sagaalgan comes early in the morning, just as the sun rises.
On the eve of the celebration of the white month Buryats clean up the house, renew their clothes, get rid of old things. Thus, people seem to say goodbye to the past, to that which is gone.
It echoes the Russian customs of celebrating the New Year, doesn't it? We, too, are generals, getting rid of the shabby, broken, old and unnecessary.
At about 4-5 in the morning the Buryats are already awake, and at dawn they greet the Sun and the eternal blue sky.
According to legends, it is at dawn, with the rising of the Sun, that a deity, Palden Lhamo, the patroness of Tibet, enters every house and counts everyone in the house. It is believed that Lhamo counts only those people who are awake, who are awake, dressed up and ready to meet the new day. If someone oversleeps, they will not be taken into account by the deity and, accordingly, misses their luck for a whole year.
Maybe the Russian proverb: "He who gets up early, God gives him" was born for a reason?
According to the rules of the meeting of Sagaalgan you must first introduce yourself to the Sun and thank you for the year that has ended well. Gratitude includes not only warm words of gratitude, but also offerings (treats) for the spirits. It can be milk, sweets, tea, vodka.
Then you need to introduce the Sun and the eternal blue sky, as well as the spirits that a person worships, all members of his family. Only then ask for what you want for the next year. Basically, this is the well-being of the family and the health of all relatives and friends.
Celebration of Sagaalgan, photo of the administration of Agin district, aginskoe.ru
The shaman, who gave a lecture on the traditions of celebrating the white month, said that among the wishes of the Buryats in Sagaalgan, there are usually such as health of livestock, a good harvest, prosperity for a family business, meeting with his soul mate, the birth of children.
As it turned out, the dreams of all peoples are the same.
On the first day of Sagaalgan do not go to visit. This day is spent exclusively with the family.
In the foreground are such universal values as reverence for elders and respect for each other, strengthening the family, introducing young people to the cultural heritage of their ancestors. This seemingly simple folk philosophy is passed on by the holiday from generation to generation.
For example, in the ceremony of presenting gifts to each other, the youngest in the family are the first to congratulate and give gifts. That is, children go to their parents, parents to their parents, etc. This is a sign of respect and reverence for elders. Parents, having accepted congratulations and gifts from their children, congratulate everyone by seniority in response, while first congratulating men (boys), and then women (girls).
Significance is attached to the very message of the gift, while its form, high cost, prestige do not matter. In the gift exchange ritual, attention is key.
On other days of Sagaalgan celebration it is customary to visit guests and treat guests at home. The more guests visit the house during the celebration, and the richer the table, the luckier and more satisfying the coming year will be. 
In the Buryat tradition there is such a rule - never to answer the question “how are you?”, “How is life?” That “everything is bad”. For example, when the Buryats ask: "How are you?" He must answer that "everything is fine", or that "everything is on the sly." But never answer - "everything is bad", "no money", "depression", "bad luck."
Even if, in fact, his affairs are not important, he will answer:
- "How are the cattle?"
- "Growing slowly" (even if he has a case).
- "Are the cows fattening?"
- "There is little, we feed, we try" (even if it was a dry year and there is nothing to feed the cattle with).
It's a good tradition, because thought is material)
Ancient times it was not customary for the Buryats to memorize their birthdays, and even more so to celebrate them. With the onset of the White month, each Buryat added a year to himself. In this case, the year was counted from the year of conception, and not from the year of birth. That is, for example, you are now 30 years old and + a year in your mother's belly, that is, 31 years old.
Even if you were born on the eve of Sagaalgan, then in ancient times you would have added a year and + year in the stomach, so a month-old baby could be 2 years old.
The same was done with the age of the cattle. All cows, horses, pigs, and rams were added 1 year by the advance of Sagaalgan.
They say that even now in some villages this custom is still observed.
Travel articles in Buryatia:
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Celebrating the New Year is a great holiday for every nation, regardless of religion. Various celebrations are timed to this day, aimed at spiritual cleansing, renewal and mood for well-being next year. For Buddhists, New Year's Eve and all festive times are very full of various ritual celebrations that call people to spiritual cleansing and exaltation. This tradition is associated with the fusion of Buddhism and the customs of the peoples who adopted it. For example, the Tibetans adopted this religion only in the fifteenth century. The New Year was timed to coincide with the religious holiday Monlam or the Great Prayer.
New Year or Sagaalgan is celebrated with two weeks of prayer in honor of the victory of the divine Buddha over the false teachings and their supporters and his fifteen labors. The Buddhist New Year in 2017 will be celebrated as always solemnly at the end of winter.
In the pre-holiday period, three-day prayers are held in all temples in honor of ten deities who protect Buddhist teachings. The praise of the main patroness of Sri Devi is especially praised. The festive service takes place on the eve of the New Year and requires special preparation. True Buddhists should spend the entire night before performing the ordinance in vigils until six in the morning. At this time, prayer is going on in the temples, but you can read mantras at home and indulge in thought. If you did not fall asleep and did all the necessary actions, then the goddess will give her blessing and help in solving the most insoluble problems. The prayer service in the church lasts a whole day and ends with congratulations on the coming New Year.
As is customary, on this holiday a rich table is laid at home, but Buddhists have one feature - there must certainly be white food, usually milk and dairy products.
What date the Buddhist New Year 2018 will be is determined by the first spring birth of a new moon, which is regulated by the lunar calendar. There is no exact date for the holiday, it can fall at the end of January, all of February and until mid-March. Every year the celebration comes on a different day of the week and date.
2018 Buddhist New Year, the date of which falls on 16 february, promises to be stormy, multifaceted. This is determined by the patron saint of the coming period, the fiery Rooster. The period in which the Rooster comes into its own does not begin on January 1, but on January 28. Later Buddhist comes only, which falls on March 21 and is called Novruz.
A strict requirement is to spend the first day of the new year with the family. At home, everyone is given joy and prayer. You can start visiting only on the second day of the year. Holidays last for thirty days, this time is called the White month and is used for various kinds of solemn ceremonies.
Every person dreams of prosperity and good luck for the New Year. Buddhists have a special tradition, which, according to beliefs, should bring all the benefits to the house. The rite of launching horses, which the wind of good luck will bring, is as follows. The image of a symbolic horse is illuminated in a Buddhist temple and hung either on the door or on the roof above the house so that it vibrates from the currents of the wind. The house over which such an image develops will surely be visited by good luck, and the deities will pay attention to it.
New Year is a holiday of purification and spiritual enrichment for Buddhists, as well as a great desire for peace and prosperity for themselves and everyone around them.
I just said that today, according to the Eastern calendar, the Sagaalgan White Month has begun in Russia, which is celebrated at least in Buryatia, the Irkutsk region and, probably, somewhere else where there are Buddhists.
I found an article about this holiday and some photos with costumes. If anyone knows what the costumes are called and how they should be worn, on what occasions, comments are welcome.
Neighboring Santa Clauses come to visit the White Elder.
About them was here.
The invasion of Ded Morozov, or how Russian business creates a new folklore
https://selyanka1.livejournal.com/43411.html
The Invasion of Ded Morozov, or how Russian business creates a new folklore. Part 2
https://selyanka1.livejournal.com/43739.html
In the Buddhist tradition, the celebration of the New Year falls in different years between the end of January and mid-March, on the first spring new moon according to the lunar calendar. The date of the meeting of the New Year according to the lunar calendar is annually calculated according to astrological tables. Due to the differences in astrological calculations, given that in each territory the lunar day begins at its own time, in different countries the dates of the holiday may not coincide. For example, in Russia it comes later than in Asian countries. Traditionally, on New Year's Eve, the most respected and revered lamas make astrological forecasts for the inhabitants of each country for the next year.
Three days before the onset of the holiday, a special prayer service is performed in the temples dedicated to the Dharmapalas, the ten protector deities of the Doctrine. The greatest reverence among them is given to the goddess Sri Devi (Tib. Baldan Lhamo), who is considered the patroness of the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. A separate prayer service (Baldan Lhamo) is performed in her honor on the day immediately preceding the New Year. To receive the blessing of the goddess, it is recommended not to sleep all night until 6 in the morning - either to attend prayer services in the temple, or to recite mantras and practice at home. For those who do not sleep and turn to her for help, the goddess will show her protection and help in solving difficult issues. In the temple, solemn services - khurals - are held throughout the day and night. The prayer service ends at 6 o'clock in the morning. The abbot wishes everyone a Happy New Year. At home, a festive table is set, on which white food must be present (milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, butter).
On the first day of the year, you cannot visit, it must be spent with your family. Visiting, visiting relatives begins from the second day and can continue until the end of the month.
The whole month is considered a holiday.
White month is the most favorable time for carrying out cleansing rituals. Before the onset of the New Year, a special cleansing ritual is held in all homes - Gutor, during which all the failures and all the bad things that have accumulated over the previous year are "thrown out" from the home and from the life of each person. It is performed by a lama invited to the house with the participation of all family members. After the end of the festive meal, the remnants of food, along with coins, rags, a candle and a hadak (a special scarf that is given to guests during a greeting as a sign of respect), are placed in a large bowl, where a human-shaped figure is also placed, molded from dough and painted red (torma ). Taken together, this serves as a "ransom" that should make evil and bad luck leave the house. In the evening, by the light of a lantern, people carry these objects to a vacant lot by the road and throw them away, turning to evil with the words: "Get out of here!" After that, they quickly return without looking back (according to legend, if a person turns around, then evil can return with him).
In Buriatia, the pyramid "Sor", where evil has accumulated, is taken out of the datsan to the sound of a horn, a fire is lit, and the lamas call on believers to mentally imagine how all spiritual obstacles and bad thoughts burn out in this fire.
On New Year's days, the ceremony of launching "horses of the wind of fortune" is performed. The horse of the wind of fortune is a symbol showing the state of human well-being. The image of the "horse of the wind of fortune", consecrated in the temple, is tied to a tree or placed on the roof of a house in such a way that it necessarily flutters in the wind. It is believed that the "horse of the wind of fortune" serves as a powerful protection against misfortune and disease, attracting attention and invoking the help of deities. His image also symbolizes the wish of health, happiness and prosperity in the new year to all living beings.
And about the very holiday in Lent majorfonskrip
"With Sagaalgan everyone!"
From February 15 to February 16, the long-awaited Mongolian-Buryat new year began - Sagaalgan (White month). In Transbaikalia, February 16 is an official day off, so everyone, regardless of nationality and religion, is happy about the holiday. However, all the festivities are scheduled for February 17, apparently, so that people have time to come to their senses.
Sagaalgan is not only a lunar New Year holiday, but also the birthday of every Mongol and Buryat. Just imagine: everyone has a birthday on the same day. It's a shame! Perhaps that is why now they no longer insist on this part of Sagaalgan, and birthdays are celebrated according to the passport.
Names of animals in Buryat.
Preparation for the holiday should begin one month in advance. During this time, you need to do a general cleaning, because cleanliness in the house = cleanliness of thoughts. Only long-awaited guests - creatures of the cardinal points (North, South, West, East, South-East, North-West, etc.) will enter a clean house.
On the 29th day of the lunar calendar, Dugjuuba passes. Our event took place on February 14th. A cone-shaped structure is built from boards and rags and burned. There you also need to throw a small rag, piece of paper or cotton wool, with which you previously wiped your body. Then all your sins, everything dirty and bad, will burn in the fire.
Dugzhuuba in the Chita datsan. 2013 The photo is old, but not from this year yet. Written by Denis Gudkov. From here.
And this is already February 14, 2018, I found only this. From here
On the last day before the holiday, you cannot clean up, you need to bring your soul and body to a state of rest, prepare offerings to the deities.
The festive table was supposed to be full of white food (9 different names): yogurt, milk, aarsu (a drink made from sour cottage cheese and flour), etc., meat, fruits and sweets.
Sagaalgan does not come at midnight!And early in the morning at dawn. You can't sleep this time. Absolutely not! It is at this time that the deity Baldan-Lhamo will come to your home, which is conducting a census of the population, and if you are asleep, you will not be prepared for happiness for the next year. Like this!
What to give for Sagaalgan
Simple answer: as for the "regular" New Year. Traditional gifts include: a woman - cloth, tea, home textiles, scarves, a man - a hadak (ritual long scarf), tobacco, children - sweets and money. Yes! Money is better for children.
Hello dear readers - seekers of knowledge and truth!
New Year is probably the most favorite holiday on our planet. It is not surprising, because this is a great reason to leave adversity, sorrow, experiences in the past and hopefully enter a bright future. And although different peoples celebrate it in different ways, everyone is equally in the exciting expectation of a miracle.
This article will tell you how the New Year is celebrated in Buddhism, how the celebration of Tibetans differs from the holiday of the Theravada adherents, what delicacies are usually prepared for this holiday, and how Buddhist New Year traditions differ in different parts of the world.
Buddhist New Year
This bright holiday in Buddhism is referred to as Sagaalgan , which is translated from Mongolian as "white month". He does not have a specific date - it depends on the lunar calendar and is assigned after special astrological calculations. The date falls on the first lunar day of spring and can occur from late January to mid-February.
Sagaalgan comes, which means that the hard wintering time for livestock is coming to an end and spring is not far off.
From the time of its appearance - from the 13th century - until 1700, this tradition was celebrated in the fall, at the end of seasonal work, and only three centuries ago it was transferred to the period familiar to us.
This celebration causes a slight thrill among Buddhists, because there is an opportunity to throw away all the unpleasant that has accumulated over the year. However, this requires careful preparation.
Before the holiday, it is advisable for people to maintain a one-day fast, as well as adhere to purity in thoughts, actions, statements. This will help the material and spiritual shell of a person to be cleansed of evil, filth, negative emotions.
The night before the first day of the year is called "moonless". Temples arrange a ritual of cleansing fire - Dugjuuba. People believe that this fire burns out all the troubles that have occurred during the year.
On the same day, family members invite the venerable lama to perform a special cleansing ritual called Gutor. When night falls, they put on white outfits and set the festive table, which is bursting with exquisite food. The meal takes place in a narrow circle of the closest relatives: there will be two whole weeks ahead for visiting visits.
Curiously, even in dishes, Buddhists show a love for white, which symbolizes purity and new beginnings. At dinner, it is white delicacies that abound: rice, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter. Finally, believers can give vent to their appetite and take a walk, savoring unusual dishes, which are often prepared only on a single evening of the year:
- salamaat - wheat, barley or rye porridge with butter and sour cream:
- buuzy - traditional dumplings with broth inside;
- choliso - sweet curd treat with bird cherry;
- shaneshki - buns with sweet filling.
After dinner is over, the leftover food is collected in a bowl, old things, coins, a candle and a torma - a human figurine molded from dough are thrown there. The contents of the bowl are a kind of ransom from evil and misfortune, which family members together throw out in the wasteland. Returning back, they are afraid to turn around, because they believe that it is possible to return the adversity they have just thrown away.
In the morning you need to get up before dark or not sleep at all. The time before dawn can be filled with reading prayers and mantras, meditations. And in the early morning Baldan-Lhamo will come - a beautiful deity, capable of rewarding with happiness and luck for the near future. However, the favor of the deity must be earned - it comes to check how the family is ready for the coming year: the house must be cleaned, the children must be neat, the pets must be well-fed and well-groomed.
Shortly before the holiday of the lama, astrologers make forecasts for the year. In temples, monks conduct services, and when the clock strikes 6 am, the head monk finally reverently announces that the new year has entered into full force.
In a day, the time comes to congratulate close and distant relatives. For 15 days Buddhists celebrate, receive guests, visit them themselves and rejoice in the triumph of a new life.
The “cult” of white people does not recede even now - on the tables there are all the same white dishes, and gifts are of traditional white color. Although there is one trick here - you can simply pack the gift in a white box. But even in this simple rite, it is important to observe traditions - gifts are presented on a special canvas, and people should be wearing a headdress and face each other.
Tibetan celebration
The Tibetan New Year is called Losar. In many ways, it is similar to the traditional Buddhist Sagaalgan, even celebrated on the same day. But Tibetans are a special people, so they also celebrate in a special way.
In the former capital of Tibet - in Lhasa - they literally prepared for the New Year happily. With songs and dances, about 2-3 tens of thousands of monks collected fuel for all holidays , set flags, decorated houses, hanging ribbons with garlands on them.
On the eve of the holiday, household members prepare dough with flour mixed with water and display magnificent patterns on the walls of their house. Family life on the final day of the year is in full swing: pies are being prepared, order is being restored.
Particularly interesting is the tradition akin to modern fortune cookies: on the first morning of the year, buns with inedible filling are eaten. You will stumble upon a pie with paper - you will succeed in learning, with a tree - be afraid of poverty, with manure - catch your luck by the tail.
In the monasteries, in honor of seeing off the outgoing year, the traditional rite of cham (tsam) is arranged - an amazing spectacle where monks wearing masks and lay people armed with swords dance.
Theravada holiday
The Theravada school has spread throughout Southeast Asia and is firmly rooted in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos. Countries such as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore have opened the door for its traditions, and with them for the Theravada New Year.
It comes here a little later than in the rest of the Buddhist world, namely, on the first full moon of April. And the festivities seem more modest - just three days versus the classic two-week festivities. But the customs are just as interesting.
Sand hills are erected near the temples. This is not just pointless fun, but a symbol of the center of the creation of the world in the representation of the adherents of the school. Its name is Mount Mera.
Here, numerous statues of Buddha Shakyamuni are dressed in the clothes of monks. In some countries, a gesture of compassion for all living things is adopted: for this, fish is bought, and then it is released back into the water. Thais love to pour water over the sculptures of the Awakened One and each other.
Each school of Buddhism has its own characteristics of celebration, centuries-old customs and funny traditions, sometimes just like childish pranks. But they are united by the main thing - belief in a happy life, good forces and a bright future.
Conclusion
Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! If you liked the article, share the link with your friends on social networks.
And see you soon!