Mongolia New Year

The Mongolia New Year is known as Tsagaan Sar in the country. It is one of the biggest festivals in Mongolia and you will often find people preparing weeks, rather months before the event. This is a lunar festival and it is celebrated almost in the onset of spring, the natives call it the birth of new things or the season of everything, that earns life.

​See more about 5 Best Traditional Mongolia Festivals​

The celebration of Mongolia New Year has its roots back in the Huns Empire who was the pioneer of the lunar calendar. The facts about how it is celebrated and why it is celebrated are so interesting that it got Tsagaan Sar into the intangible list of Cultural Heritage with UNESCO. This country never fails to surprise the visitors and that is exactly why, you ought to know some of the interesting and important things about this festival before you make a visit to Mongolia.
 A New Year celebration is usually a three-day event and it is announced according to the lunar calendar every year, which is mostly bridged between winter and the onset of spring.  The month to be precise is the end of January or the starting of February. The festival is celebrated for three days symbolizing the health and wealth of life. The preparation for the festival begins in a very basic way that is cleaning the gers, piling the ingredients for the festive dishes, cleaning the livestock, and making new traditional clothes for all family members.

Here are the dates for the coming few years if you are planning to visit Mongolia to catch up on the annual New Year celebration.

• February 12th - 14th, 2021
• February 1st - 3rd, 2022
• February 20th - 23rd, 2023
• February 10th - 13th, 2024
• January 29th - 31st, 2025
 

One of the basic reasons for any celebration is to meet and greet people, same goes for the Mongols. The Mongolians have lived a nomadic life from centuries now, and they are constantly on the move from one place to another based on their tribe, culture, traditions and families. This nomadic life serves as a barrier between their relations with their close ones because they constantly migrated.

The introduction of Mongolia New Year is to make sure that people meet one another and share their stories with the loved ones, to respect the elders of the community, exchange gifts, and have a good time with family and friends. The entire celebration has a positive vibe that reflects the ancient customs, heritage, and traditions of Mongolian people.
 

On the day before Tsagaan Sar or no moon, the families stay ready with the preparations. You will see tables filled with traditional Mongolian festive dishes, the women prepare a feast of sheep rump cooked slowly with herbs and minimal spices. The tables are decorated with candles and other sweet dishes, which are the specialty of the country. The sweet dishes contain piles of traditional cookies and dairy products and an addition of some well-known food like curd rice, steamed dumplings and more.

​See more about Mongolian Desserts​

After the sunset, Mongolians wear their traditional robes and gather around the table to meet and greet each other. The homes are packed with family, friends, relatives, and neighbors. The families also believe that their deity visits every family a day before the event that is on the no moon day. You will find three pieces of hay and ice outside every house for the deity they worship.

Since the celebration is extended to 3 days, the next morning the people get dressed before the sunrise and walk towards a set direction give according to the zodiac for good luck. After this is done, the women gather to prepare the dumplings and men climb the nearest mountaintop to greet the first ray of the morning sun and then the celebration of the day begins.

​See more about Best Mongolia Foods​

The beauty of the celebration is enhanced after the host of the family sit and wait for other people to come over, they greet each other by hugging, and the elder members show their affection by planting a kiss on the cheeks of the younger member of the family.

The celebration of this incredible festival is so unique that people especially visit the country to be a part of Mongolia New Year. The celebration is sometimes carried out with a symbolic blue scarf, which means that they are showing respect to the family members.  The Mongols visit each other in the span of three days, greet, eat, and repeat the custom for three days.

The charm of Mongolia New Year is so unique that tourist from around the world makes the visit during this time to experience the culture and tradition of the country.