Tsagaan sar - Lunar Year
The name means white month and celebrates the passing of winter and beginning of spring. Tsagaan Sar was originally an end of summer festival, but once again it was Genghis Khan who changed things, moving the event to the end of winter in 1216. The Mongolian lunar calendar uses five cycles of twelve years.
Each cycle being named after an element (earth, water, fire, iron and wind) and each year after one of twelve animals. The Lunar calendar doesn’t operate within the European twelve month system and hence Lunar New Year dates change every year. The festival is celebrated at the end of January or beginning of February and officially lasts three days.
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Naadam Festival
This annual sports festival Naadam is the most famous celebration across the country. It features the three manly sports: wrestling , archery and horse racing . Naadam is celebrated across the country and every town and village will hold its own wrestling, archery and horse racing contests. The official Naadam opening ceremony in Ulaanbaatar is quite spectacular.
Riders dressed as Genghis Khan’ s entourage lead the huge procession around the Naadam stadium, which features hundreds of adults and children dressed in costumes representing all Mongolia’s ethic groups. In Ulaanbaatar, wrestling takes place in the main Naadam stadium. Archery competitions are outside the stadium everywhere, while the famous, perilous horse races take place outside the city.
New year celebration in Mongolia
Especially in Ulaanbaatar it can be said that Mongolians celebrate new year twice. One is according to Gregorian calendar, and the other is according to lunar calendar(Tsagaan sar) . From the time of communism, Mongolians began to celebrate new year (31 December) extensively.
Most of the companies celebrate new year by 30 December, beginning about 15 December. Companies celebrate the event in restaurants with all its employees, nominating best employee of the year etc. Also, they send greetings with a champagne or chocolate to their customers. School age children celebrate at the school around at noon, preparing some gifts for each other. Kindergarten children also celebrates new year by performing mini-concert for their parents.
Family celebrations, like Christmas, is held right on 31 December evening, gathering around the table, waiting for 12 clock strike along with Mongolian President’s toast on TV. Table is put just as russian style. Most of the families tend to prepare gifts only to children. Official holiday is only 1 January and 2 January is working day if it is not Saturday or Sunday.
Tsagaan Sar - Mongolian Lunar New Year
Tsagaan Sar is the Mongolian lunar New Year’s festival. It is often celebrated around the same time as the Chinese New Year. However, Mongolians generally deny any Chinese origin or influence, so the celebration is sometimes referred to as the Mongolian New Year or Asian New Year when translated into English.
The White Moon holiday is celebrated two months after the first new moon following the winter solstice. In 2008, White Moon falls on Feb. 8th. After Naadam, Tsagaan Sar is the second-most important Mongolian holiday. Around the New Year people greet each other by saying “Amar mend uu”, a very formal greeting which one says to one’s elders. Mongolians also visit friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. Readmore…
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