New Year’s Blessing

A tradition that exists in Mongolia, after the new year season, is to invite a monk over to one’s home or place of employment to have them perform a blessing for the new year. Last year, I did not see any such event at my usual haunts in Erdenet. This year, however, while visiting Khentii […]

Morning Mountain Trek

The first morning of the lunar new year (Tsagaan Sar) is an important one for men. The tradition is that men will climb a mountain, if there is one nearby, before the sunrise to capture the energy from the sun. It’s supposed to bring them good things for the coming year, and for the superstitious, they’ll […]

Snuff

There are so many traditions wrapped up in Mongolian holidays, it’s hard to disseminate that information without lengthy essays. With the recent celebration of Tsagaan Sar, I got to see many of these traditions up close, and even got to participate in a few. One of the more interesting ones is the way men greet […]

Tsagaan Sar

“Tsagaan Sar is like Halloween and Thanksgiving – except when you go trick-or-treating, instead of candy, you get Thanksgiving dinner at each house.” -Andrew (Fellow Peace Corps Mongolia Volunteer) To celebrate the lunar new year, Mongolians take three (or many, many more) days to visit relative’s houses. At each house, you are fed buuz, the […]

The Year of The Snake

The Lunar New Year, in case you were unaware, is a big deal in Asia. Huge. In Mongolia, it is a particularly big deal. In the days leading up to the first night of Tsagaan Sar, or White Month, or Lunar New Year, you will see frantic housewives cleaning their homes, top to bottom. You […]