Fun and festivities in Mongolia - celebrations, festivals and cultural events

Of the most revered and respected holiday of Mongolia is Tsagaan Sar, also known as “White Month”. On this day, the New Year is celebrated according to the lunar calendar and at the same time the coming of spring. The Mongolian people believe that when a new moon arrives at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, a new year begins according to the eastern calendar. This holiday also marks the beginning of the White Months. The harsh winter months retreat and the Mongols rejoice for more than three days over the coming of the New Year. There is no specific date for the festivity since every year a new moon comes at different times. Celebration of Tsagaan Sar is one of the most ancient traditions in Mongolia. There is a description of this celebration in the 13th century. This can be found in the records of Marco Polo.

On the eve of the holiday, Buddhist temples hold festive services and the Mongols pray for the coming of a happy year. After the service, people make bonfires and burn old unnecessary things which symbolize all the unhappy moments that occurred in the previous year. From this point onward, it is customary to visit relatives, congratulate them and give gifts. Traditionally, the New Year in Mongolia is marked early in the morning unlike other countries that mark theirs at midnight. Individuals dress up in bright colored traditional festive clothes. They then take to the streets making festive processions along the way. The festival is accompanied by a huge variety of culinary, sporting and singing events.

On the tenth day of July, the inhabitants of Mongolia celebrate Naadam, the victory of the people’s revolution in 1921. Despite the fact that this festival is held in almost all cities, it is in Ulaanbaatar that the brightest performances are held. Bunchuk, a symbol of the royal power of Mongolia, is swept along the major streets of the city right up to the stadium. This marks the beginning of the holiday. At about lunch time, the President of the Country addresses the general population with a congratulatory message. In the central part of the city stadium, a national flag is hoisted together with nine white bunchuk made from the hair of thousands of purebred stallions. Behind the stadium are organized tents with souvenirs as well as tents with food where you can eat and see the competition. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

On these days, the coordinators organize competitions of horse races, archery and wrestling. It is these sorts of sports that are most loved by the Mongolian people. A substantial number of visitors and athletes partake in this celebration. The culmination of the fest is the mass horse race that is distinctive by the ages of its participants. Boys and girls from six to thirteen years of age are specially trained before the competition and astonish everyone by their ability to stay on the saddle. It is imperative to note that the race distance is determined by the age of the horse: adult horses compete in a 30-kilometer race while four and five-year-olds run 28-kilometers.

Mystery Tsam is the highlight of a religious ceremony that takes place every year in the month of July at the Erdene Zuu Monastery and is a costume party. Monks make masks for themselves and perform dances with a deep symbolism in their movements. All decorations, masks and other attributes of the festival are produced by craftsmen and are recognized as masterpieces of the decorative and applied art of the Mongolian people. This is quite a young holiday. It was recognized only in 2012 by the government of Mongolia on the eve of the 850th commemoration of the great Genghis Khan. Traditionally, the event is fixed on the first day of winter according to the lunar calendar of Mongolia.

The Golden Eagle Festival is held in the early days of October. This is a festival where hunters with golden eagles are displayed. On the day of the celebration, a huge number of competitions are arranged: races on camels, tug-of-war on horseback, and horse races. In any case, the highlight of the festival is the competition of hunters with golden eagles. Berkutchi raise their offspring from chicks and train them throughout their life. According to the rules of the competition, the golden eagle on the command takes the bait, the bird arrives on the call-up whistle of the host and catches a fox or a hare. This is an amazingly captivating sight. The smart and dangerous birds attract the eye and it is impossible not to root for one of them.