Prayer Flag

Colourful rectangular cloth flags strung on lines or poles in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, inscribed with prayers, mantras, and auspicious symbols, hung at mountain passes, monasteries, and homes so that the wind spreads their blessings to all beings. Prayer flags are traditionally raised at Losar (Tibetan New Year) and other major Buddhist festivals, with old flags ceremonially burned and new ones hung to symbolise renewal, and their five colours — blue, white, red, green, and yellow — represent the five elements of Buddhist cosmology.