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Lunar new year celebrations in Mongolia: Tsagaan Sar |
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 For Mongolians, the first holiday to celebrate the New Year is Tsagaan Sar. The New Year festival according to the lunar calendar, meaning "White Moon". This is a big family celebration with various ceremonies lasting 3 days. Tsagaan Sar customs are centuries old ant it's the most widely celebrated holiday. Tsagaan Sar normally falls on the first day of a spring month, when winter ends. This is january of february on the Gregorian calendar, depending on the phases of the moon, unless the lap year has been calculated differently.
Celebration of the lunar New Year's eve is called "bituun", and in the evening every family prepares a big meal and lots of fresh food to have a feast. A big wrestling math is broadcasted live throughout the country.
People ride their best horses during this holiday, prepare new clothes in advance, and wear the most elegant ones. Homes are cleaned up thoroughly on the eve.
In the morning of a New Year, a housewife offers the first cup of tea to gods in all directions. After the sunrise, people start to greet each other. While greeting they stretch their arms and the younger supports the elbow of the senior. The senior or elder people wish a long and happy life to the young. While exchanging snuffbottles in greeting, people usually talk about how they passed the winter. During the days of Tsagaan Sar Holiday, various ceremonies become inevitable such has visits to relatives, exchange of gifts and lots of eating. Guests are welcomed warmly and are served with tea and food. In addition to food, hosts give a present to visitors and sweets to children. Mongolians attach a great significance to the first day of a New year, therefore people exercise religious pratices called "Khiymorion sergeekh" for good luck. In Tsagaan Sar people perform an "Ovoo" ceremony to thanks the god and nature
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What does Tsagaan Sar look like ?? |
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festivals and celebrations 
