Welcome to Mongolia

LUNAR NEW YEAR   The  Mongolian Lunar New Year , commonly known as  Tsagaan Sar  (Mongolian:  Цагаан сар ,  Cagán sar  / ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠰᠠᠷᠠ, or literally  White Moon ), is the first day of the year according to the Mongolian lunisolar calendar. The festival of the Lunar New Year is celebrated by the Mongols along with the people of the Arctic. TIMING The White Moon festival is celebrated on the first through third days of the first lunar month. Tibet’s Losar occurs on the same day as the Mongolian White Moon. Tsagaan Sar is one of the most important Mongolian holidays. CEREMONY The customs of Tsagaan Sar are significantly different depending on the region. In Mongolia around the New Year for example, families burn candles at the altar symbolizing Buddhist enlightenment. Also people greet each other with holiday-specific greetings such as Амар байна уу? (Amar baina uu?), meaning “Are you living peacefully?”M...

“NAADAM” FESTIVAL   Naadam  (Mongolian:  Наадам , classical Mongolian:  Naɣadum ,  literally “games” ) is a traditional festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed “eriin gurvan naadam” ( эрийн гурван наадам ) “the three games of men”. The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery, and are held throughout the country during midsummer. Women have started participating in the archery and girls in the horse-racing games, but not in Mongolian wrestling. In 2010, Naadam was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. Naadam is the most widely watched festival among Mongols, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Naadam has its origin in the activities, such as military parades and sporting competitions such as archery, horse riding and wrestling, that followed the celebration of various occasions, including weddings or spir...

MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL ARTS   Music is an integral part of Mongolian culture. Among the unique contributions of Mongolia to the world’s musical culture are the long songs, one of the greatest features of the Mongolian music, overtone singing and morin khuur the horse-headed fiddle. The  music of Mongolia  is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country: Oirad, Hotogoid, Tuva,Darhad, Buriyad, Tsaatan, Barga, Dariganga, Uzemchin, Khazakh and Khalha. The  Long drawn song  (Mongolian:  ᠤᠷᠲᠠ ᠢᠢᠨᠳᠠᠭᠤᠨ ,  Urtiin duu ) is one of the central elements of the traditional  music of Mongolia . This genre is called “Long song” not only because the songs are long, but also because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. Certain long songs such as  Uvgin shuvuu khoyor , also known as  Jargaltain delger  (lit. ‘Old man and the Bird’) ...