Today is also Losar, the Tibetan New Year (Lo means year and sar means new). Losar sometimes falls on the same day as Chinese New Year, but not this year.
Agenda Today:
1. Clean House:
Cleaning house is a custom for both Clean Monday and for Losar. In Tibet, people clean house for the whole month before the New Year, and whitewash their walls. In the Ukraine, Russia, and Greece everyone especially cleans the kitchen and the pots with which they have cooked festival foods, because today is the start of the Lenten fast.
Today I will scrub the walls in the kitchen and touch up the paint in a couple of places.
2. Draw Symbols:
In Tibet, people might paint or draw the eight auspicious symbols on their walls for the new year. I decided to draw the endless knot on my kitchen wall, which is a symbol of cause and effect, and the union of compassion and wisdom.
Supplies: chalk, ruler, marker, paint, brush
1- Find the center of the space and draw an X.
2- Chalk out the rest of the design- I use chalk because I can easily rub it away and correct my lines.
3- Thicken up the lines.
4- (Optional) Outline with a pen and a ruler, to show the under-over-under pattern of the knot.
5- Paint with acrylics.
3. Hang new prayer flags:
Agenda Today:
1. Clean House:
Cleaning house is a custom for both Clean Monday and for Losar. In Tibet, people clean house for the whole month before the New Year, and whitewash their walls. In the Ukraine, Russia, and Greece everyone especially cleans the kitchen and the pots with which they have cooked festival foods, because today is the start of the Lenten fast.
Today I will scrub the walls in the kitchen and touch up the paint in a couple of places.
2. Draw Symbols:
In Tibet, people might paint or draw the eight auspicious symbols on their walls for the new year. I decided to draw the endless knot on my kitchen wall, which is a symbol of cause and effect, and the union of compassion and wisdom.
Supplies: chalk, ruler, marker, paint, brush
1- Find the center of the space and draw an X.
2- Chalk out the rest of the design- I use chalk because I can easily rub it away and correct my lines.
3- Thicken up the lines.
4- (Optional) Outline with a pen and a ruler, to show the under-over-under pattern of the knot.
3. Hang new prayer flags:
Losar is a three-day festival. Before Losar, all the oldest prayer flags are removed, and on the third day new ones are hung.
Prayer flags in Tibet are made with woodblock prints of designs and the words of Buddhist prayers. They believe that the prayers on their flags will spread with the wind.
Two year's ago I made my own prayer flags- see more about them here. They are still in good shape, so I will leave them up another year.
4. Make Lagana (Greek flat bread)
This simple flat bread is traditionally made on Clean Monday, and its traditional to tear and not slice your loaf of lagana today to avoid bad luck.
Ingredients:
1. Combine yeast, sugar and water. Set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
2. Add flour and salt. Mix well until you have a sticky dough. Knead for 10 minutes (I used my bread hook), adding a few more spoonfulls of flour to keep it from sticking, until the dough is smooth.
3. Place ball of dough in a large, clean bowl that has been very lightly greased with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm spot to rise about 1 or 1-1/2 hours. The dough will double in size.
4. In the bowl, knead the risen dough a few times to deflate it and then turn out onto your pan. Gently stretch and pat your dough into a rectangle.
Prayer flags in Tibet are made with woodblock prints of designs and the words of Buddhist prayers. They believe that the prayers on their flags will spread with the wind.
Two year's ago I made my own prayer flags- see more about them here. They are still in good shape, so I will leave them up another year.
4. Make Lagana (Greek flat bread)
 |
| I served my lagana with garlic-rosemary olive oil. |
Ingredients:
- 2-1/4 tsp. yeast
- 1-1/2 tsp. sugar
- 2-1/2 c. warm water
- 5-1/4 c. flour (any combination), plus some for kneading
- 3/4-tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 c. white and / or black sesame seeds
- 1/2-Tbsp. honey
1. Combine yeast, sugar and water. Set aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
2. Add flour and salt. Mix well until you have a sticky dough. Knead for 10 minutes (I used my bread hook), adding a few more spoonfulls of flour to keep it from sticking, until the dough is smooth.
3. Place ball of dough in a large, clean bowl that has been very lightly greased with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a warm spot to rise about 1 or 1-1/2 hours. The dough will double in size.
Use a wooden spoon to press small grooves or dots in the dough.
5. Let lagana dough rest, covered, and rise for another half hour.
6. Dilute the honey with a little boiling water and brush it all over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 400ºF for 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool. Let rest at least 5 minutes before serving.
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