#areyoulivinginpeace

[theyearofyears]

Double figures! Tsagaan Sar is the 10th New Year

Today is the third day of the festival of Tsagaan Sar, which officially started on 27th Feb. I had it in my giant new years spreadsheet* as 28th, and then yesterday was distracted by eating pancakes and hanging out with my friend’s new kitten, so only posting now. But it’s still on, so Happy Tsagaan Sar!

Tsagaan Sar is Mongolian New Year festival. It means White Moon, and lots of white foods and drinks are consumed (along with some more colorful sounding foodstuffs - see below).

It has commonalities with Losar and the other Lunar Year celebrations. Like those, this is the Year of the Fire Bird. But it also has its own very definite customs. One of which involves visiting all your relatives in their homes in age order starting with the oldest, and greeting them with the phrase “Are you living in peace?” Here are a bunch more:

‘Some activities that tourist may wish to take part in if in Mongolia for Lunar New Year include:

Watch Mongolian wrestling competitions on TV, like many Mongolians do on their New Year’s Eve. In Mongolian folk wrestling, called “bokh,” the first person whose body touches the ground, other than the foot, loses. From the days of Genghis Khan, wrestling of this sort has been an integral part of Mongolian culture.

Eat “Lunar New Year food,” including: “buuz” – a steamed dumpling – special cookies that are stacked in a pyramid, rice mixed with curds or raisins, sheep’s tail, horse meat, pastries filled with minced mutton, and a full side of sheep on the grill.

Buy and dress up in traditional nomadic clothes, called “del,” which almost everyone wears this time of year. It is a large coat that overlaps in front to reach buttons on your shoulder and your side. Colourful designs are stitched on, and a long cloth belt is used. It is also customary to wear a fur hat and leather boots with curly toes with your del.

From publicholidays.asia

In my research Of Tsagaan Sar a message from the US Secretary of State popped up early in the google list:

On behalf of the President and the American people, we send our best wishes to the people of Mongolia as you gather with your families and friends to celebrate Tsagaan Sar on February 27.

I hope that the new year brings you prosperity and success, and that the close ties between the American and Mongolian peoples continue to deepen as we mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries.

I checked and, not surprisingly, this is the first New Year greeting sent since Lunar New Year on the day before the inauguration of the new president. Just saying.

Happy New Year

*This is a real thing. Mistakes notwithstanding there are about 40 more new years to go, spread throughout 2017.