Mongolian Holidays

Hafsa tower and sheep butt at Tsagaan Sar celebration.

 Tsagaan Sar—Tsagaan Sar is a holiday that celebrates the lunar new year.  Tsagaan Sar means “White Month” or “White Moon.”  The date changes every year because it depends on the lunar calendar but it's usually some time at the end of January or early February.  This year Tsagaan Sar was Feb. 3-6.  This is one killer holiday.  It's a lot of work, a lot of eating, a lot of singing.  I don't think Americans have any holiday like it.  It would be like if we had 4 or 5 days in a row of Thanksgiving.

  

Mongolian families start getting ready for the holiday weeks in advance.  Everyone visits the homes of family and friends, wearing traditional Mongolian clothes.  And every time you visit a home, you have to eat a full meal. The preparation for the holiday is the work part.  The main food that's served is buuz which are steamed meat dumplings, and the meat is usually mutton but sometimes it's beef.  Families make hundreds, sometimes thousands, of buuz in preparation for Tsagaan Sar.  They make them ahead of time, freeze them, and every time someone visits your home, a fresh batch of buuz are steamed for the newcomers. There's also a potato salad, white salad, that has lots of mayo and hiam (not ham, hiam, pronounced like "hyam"--it's kind of like really fatty salami) and pickles.   Then there are plates of pickles and hiam.  At one home, I had a geddes (which is stomach or intestines) salad.  That was definitely not my favorite.  There's a lot of candy too.  Every home has a tower of hard bread, called hafsa, that is topped with aruul, which is dried sour milk curds, and then basically a pile of lard at the top. No one eats the hafsa until after Tsagaan Sar, and by then it's so hard the only way to eat it is to soak it in your milk tea or tea.  The size of the tower depends on how long the parents in the home have been married, and there can only be an odd number of layers.  So young couples may have a 3-layer tower, but an old couple could have a 7-layer tower.  Every home also has a slab of sheep lower back/butt or a cow chest, that has been boiled and is left out ceremoniously next to the tower of bread.  The head of the home will cut pieces off the meat and hand it around.  It's not bad if you don't get a whole bunch of fat.  My Mongolian friends know I don't like the fat so they would give me just meat or meat with a little bit of fat.  Mongolians, however, love the fat and will eat a big ol' piece.  There's milk tea (suutai tsai) to drink, and usually juice.  It's quite a spread, really. 

Also, every guest who comes to your home gets a gift or gifts.   The gifts are cell phone unit gift cards, shampoo, soap, leather key ring holder with Chinggis Khan printed on it (I got 2 of those!), and things like that.  I'm still using up my store of Tsagaan Sar shampoo and soap. Additionally, you're supposed to thoroughly clean your home and buy something new for the home. And you buy or make new dels, the Mongolian traditional clothes. That's to start the new year fresh.  As you can see, this holiday can be very expensive.  

At Chuluuntsetseg's home on Tsagaan Sar Eve.



So, Tsagaan Sar eve (the night before the first official day of Tsagaan Sar) is for immediate family and close friends.  You eat and drink all the same stuff, but it's more low-key and no presents are given.  I spent Tsagaan Sar eve with my counterparts Ariunaa and Chuluuntsegtseg at Chuluuntsetseg's home. It was nice. Chuluuntsetseg lives with her husband, daughter, and father-in-law, so it was all of them and then me and Ariunaa and her son. 

The first day of Tsagaan Sar is for family.  Young family members go visit old family members and 

My School Director about to give the Zolgokh greeting with a khadag in his hand. 

honor them with a greeting and usually a gift of money (maybe 500-5,000 Tugriks, about $.40 to $4).  The greeting is called “zolgokh.” In the greeting, the younger person comes to the older person who is sitting and puts out both their arms, palms up and the older person puts their arms out, palms down on top of the younger person.  Sometimes one or both people have a khadag in their hands.  A khadag is a long brightly colored scarf that is part of many rituals. Then with the younger person supporting the older person's arms, the younger person leans forward and they put cheek to cheek like you're going to kiss them, but instead you sniff them on both sides of the face.  And you say, "Amar sain uu?" which means "do you rest well?" 

Giving the zolgokh greeting.



On the second day of Tsagaan Sar, I went with my counterpart Ariunaa, her 2 sons, my sitemate Geoff, and Yeong Ji, a Korean volunteer at my school, to the countryside to visit some of Ariunaa's family.  Ariunaa was anxious that I see Tsagaan Sar in the countryside.  It was really fun.  The family was honored to have us foreigners there.  Mongolians are crazy about singing, and frequently burst into song at gatherings.  Everyone takes a turn to give a toast and sing a song. Usually, if you start singing a Mongolian song, everyone will join in.  Geoff knows Mongolian really well, so he was able to dazzle the Mongolians with a Mongolian song.  I sang an English song.  At one place, I sang "Amazing Grace" with another PCV.  Geoff and I sang "Ripple" (by the Grateful Dead) at another home.  After eating one full meal in the countryside and receiving gifts, we went to my other counterpart, Chuluuntsetseg's home, had another meal, sang more songs, received gifts and then went to the home of Tserenchimeg, the training manager at my school and one of my English students.  We had yet another full meal, more songs, and more gifts. 

On the third day of Tsagaan Sar, my school had its celebration.  That morning, the teachers all met in  

Waiting for Tsagaan Sar festivities to begin at my school.

our large conference room.  We had the tower and the sheep butt.  And everyone went around and gave the greeting, then we ate some meat and had some toasts to the new year.  After the school event, I went to the home of another one of my counterpart's, Batsaya.  And then I went with her to her brother's home.  And then later that afternoon, I went to the home of a student from the local teacher's college who I've been mentoring.  Whew!

    

On the fourth day, I only went to one home, thank goodness.  I went to my school's deputy director's home, Oyunkhand.  I went with Ariunaa and the 2 Korean volunteers from my school, Yeong Ji and Sook Bin.  That was a very pleasant morning.  And that ended my Tsagaan Sar. It was a lot of fun but exhausting.

I asked my teachers, and they always end up eating leftover buuz and hafsa for weeks after Tsagaan Sar. But it is a very important holiday. And for many Mongolians it is their favorite holiday even though it's a lot of work because it's the one time during the year that the whole family comes together. It's like a family reunion.



Christmas decorations at a restaurant--just like America!

  

Shin Jil—Shin Jil means “New Year.” Mongolians celebrate the new year the whole week before Dec. 31. Most Mongolians do not celebrate Christmas but Santa Claus usually makes an appearance at Shin Jil parties, and Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, are up everywhere.

I went to 2 Shin Jil parties before Dec. 31. The first was the community women's organization's party. Everyone pays to go to the parties. I paid 25,000 tugriks (about $20) for each party. They are very nice, though. The parties start early, about 6:00 and last til after midnight. My school's teachers' party lasted til 2:00 AM! Everyone dresses to the nines. It's very fancy and sparkly. Women wear sequined dresses, get their hair done at a salon, and put glitter all over their hair and bodies. At the women's organization party, a woman came around with glitter gel and rubbed it on everyone.

At big parties like these, there is always some kind of program. At the women's party, a lot of awards were given out. There was a lot of singing and dancing. On each of the tables is juice and water. There are a couple of different salads and a hiam plate. Hiam is like salami except much bigger pieces of fat in it. Dinner is served as the night goes on. At the women's party, I think dinner came out at about 9 PM. At the teachers' party, it came out about 10 PM. Both dinners were very good and quite western. I think we had chicken at both meals. Chicken is not really a Mongolian staple food.

Santa Claus made an appearance at both parties and distributed gifts. I got a special gift at each party. Wh

Santa Claus at my school's Shin Jil party.

en I show up at meetings and events, I usually get singled out as an honored guest. It's unusual to have foreigners at events, so you inevitably become the center of attention at some point. Frequently, you end up on tv if the event is covered by the local tv station. The teachers' party had a huge program that the teachers prepared for for weeks. There were 6 men and women teachers who performed a ball room dance. There were several teachers who sang songs. Mongolians love to sing! I was supposed to sing a Christmas song with my fellow English teachers. We prepared a song, but the program went on so long, we didn't have to do it...thank God! I was nervous about it. There was a couple of students who did a ballroom dance routine. There were a lot of awards given out. There was a beauty/talent contest between 12 teachers. And there was lots of dancing. We had a blast!

 

Ballroom dancing at my school's Shin Jil party.

One interesting thing is that spouses or boyfriends or girlfriends do not attend functions with people. In America, when there are Christmas parties at work, people bring their husbands or wives. But not in Mongolia. The women's organization party was all women, except for one man--the Aimag (or state) governor who excused himself after saying a few words and giving out some awards saying he felt a little out of place. I met my school director's wife at the women's party, but I've never met her at a school function. Work and family are kept very separate. Most holiday parties follow this pattern of lots of food, dancing, singing, some sort of program, and awards.

Another interesting thing is that these big New Year’s parties do not happen on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. They all happen before Dec. 31.  On the thirty-first, Mongolians celebrate the new year with their families at home. There were a lot of fireworks all over the city on New Year’s Eve. It was quite a display!



Naadam—Naadam is Mongolia's national holiday and it is usually held around July 10, 11, and 12.  

A wrestler of the future!

Most towns have their own celebrations but they don’t all necessarily occur on July 10-12.  For example, in Choibalsan, Naadam will be July 21-23 this year. There is one huge 3-day celebration in Ulaanbaatar on July 10-12. There are competitions in the three national “manly” sports--wrestling, horse racing, and archery. There is also a fourth sport, shagai, that is becoming more important at Naadam. Shagai is a game played with sheep ankle bones. There are several different versions but they usually involve some combination of flicking a bone into another bone and/or rolling the bones. The shagai competition at Naadam involves flicking the bones at a target about 50 feet away. It’s very difficult to hit it that far and on target.

The celebrations in towns are kind of like town fairs. There are people selling drinks and khuushur  

Singing at Naadam.

(fried meat pies). Different groups (like the school, the hospital, political parties) have tents set up and offer airag (fermented mare's milk--the traditional alcohol; it’s very low in alcohol, only about 3%, so it’s difficult to get drunk on airag) and food. I tasted airag, fermented mare's milk. It tastes like watered down, bubbly sour cream. It was ok, but not something you want to drink a lot of. Airag is supposed to be "good" for your stomach, which I think means it cleans you out. If you’re not careful you might spend quite a bit of the next day in the outhouse.

There is wrestling, and there is usually a stage set up for singing and dancing. Mongolians are all about the singing and dancing.  There is also horse racing out in the khudoo (countryside). Most people dress up in their best traditional clothing, so it's very colorful. The wrestling is fascinating. See the “Mongolian Games and Sports” section for more on the three “manly” sports. There are some wrestlers who clearly wrestle frequently, but they also take competitors from the crowd.

 

Wrestling at Naadam.



One of the teachers at my school told me Naadam is her favorite holiday because it’s in the summer when it’s warm, you’re outside a lot watching wrestling, archery, and horse racing, and it’s not near as much work as other holidays. You can buy khuushuur from vendors at the events.  You can also watch the horse racing and wrestling going on in Ulaanbaatar on tv.

Women’s Day—International Women’s Day is celebrated all over the world on March 1 every year. In Mongolia, it’s kind of like Mother’s Day. There is not usually work on that day. Women go out to eat at restaurants with their families or friends. Women also get presents like cake, flowers, and clothes from their husbands, male co-workers, and fathers. At my school there was a Women’s Day song competition with teachers and students competing. There were lots of songs about mothers.

A marching competition at my school.

 Soldiers’ or Men’s Day—In Mongolia, men also have a special day on March 18. One of the teachers at my school said this was his favorite holiday because he used to be in the army, and on this day he gets to compete in or watch marching competitions.  Also, his wife makes him his favorite foods. And on Men’s Day, women give men presents. At night, there are fireworks.

Children’s Day—Everybody gets a day in Mongolia!  On June 1, it’s Children’s Day. There are all kinds of fun competitions and games like bike-riding competitions, singing and dancing competitions, and art contests. Some children draw pictures of their families and give them to their mothers. The children get gifts from their parents and grandparents like balloons, toys, candy, cake, and juice. It’s a day of fun and games for children!

Freedom Day—On November 26, Mongolians celebrate Freedom Day, the day in 1921 when Mongolia won independence from the Chinese. On that day, everyone wears Mongolian traditional clothes to celebrate their culture and nation. There are ceremonies held where the Mongolian national anthem is sung by everyone. It’s a lot like America’s Fourth of July.