Colored barley straws for Tibetan New Year

Tibetan handicraftsmen will set up a cauldron before the approaching Tibetan New Year, and color the New Year’s “flowers” in boiling water using dyes from nearby Nepal, Chinanews.com reported on Feb. 9.

A bunch of Tibetan New Year’s flower consists of five colored straws in red, yellow, and green.

Each summer, the harvested barleys are dried in the sun before being stored. It is a tradition in Tibet to make stored barley straws into festive decorations, as a way to symbolize happiness and harvest.