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Tenzin Phenthok eagerly anticipates Losar, the Tibetan New Year, a time her family celebrates with religious rituals and a feast of traditional Tibetan dishes.
This year, however, the celebration comes with a unique distinction that reaches beyond the city's 61,000 Tibetans. On Feb. 28, for the first time, New York City will mark Losar by suspending alternate side parking rules—an honor not easily granted in the city.
With this recognition, Losar joins a prestigious list of holidays observed through parking rule suspensions, including Three Kings Day (Jan. 6), Purim (March 14), Eid al-Adha (June 6-7), and Diwali (Oct. 20).
“There’s something really powerful about feeling seen,” Phenthok said.
For Tibetan New Yorkers, many of whom have experienced displacement from their homeland, Losar is more than just a holiday—it’s “a really special time for connecting Tibetans across the world,” said Pema Doma, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet.
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