Mongolian New Year Festival

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Tsagaan-sar meal
Poster for the New Year in Elista ( Kalmykia )

The Mongolian New Year festival , better known as Tsagaan Sar ( Mongolian Цагаан сар /ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ
ᠰᠠᠷᠠ; literally white moon ) is the first day of the year according to the Mongolian lunisolar calendar . The New Year is celebrated by the Mongols , but also by some Buddhist ethnic groups in Russia (such as Buryats and Kalmyks ). Sagaalgan (the white month) (Цагаан сар - Mongolian; Сагаан hара; Сагаалган - Buryat; Цаhан сар - Kalmuck; Шагаа - Tuvinian; Чага - the most important holiday of the Mongolian people, Байрам - the beginning of the new ethnic Mongolian Year according to the lunar calendar.

origin

The Tsagan Sar festival goes back to the religious traditions of the Mongolian peoples. It is a symbol of the renewal of man and nature, openness and purity of thoughts, hope and good expectations. The name of the festival comes from the Mongolian words Tsagan (Цагаан - white) and Sar (Сар - month). The "white month" was originally considered a milk festival and was celebrated in autumn. At that time, the preparation of dairy products consumed on vacation ended. Tsagan Sar is one of the Buddhist ritual festivals with elements of ancient shamanism.

mythology

Buddhist popular mythology associates the festival of Tsagan Sar with the name of a Buddhist deity - Dharmapala, the goddess Baldan Lhamo. According to legend, it comes every year after the next victory over the Rakshasa (demons from Indian mythology) and the rescue of the sun by the Lord of Hell - King Yan (or Yan Wang) (Эрлэг номын хаан - Mongolian) was swallowed on the earth, it warms the earth with its warmth, and spring begins. The cold is receding, the winter lack of forage ends, the new season begins with the economic activity of the ranchers. They count the casualties suffered in winter and rejoice in the warm season to come.

The image of an angry Buddhist goddess sometimes borders on the image of the white elder (Цагаан өвгөн - Mongolian), the traditional Buddhist embodiment of fertility and longevity.

time

The “White Moon” festival is celebrated one month after the first new moon that follows the winter solstice (in February or the end of January). Tsagaan Sar is one of the most important Mongolian festivals and basically lasts three days. It may or may not coincide with the Chinese New Year celebrations . There is always disagreement about the calculation of the exact date.

1900-02-01 1901-02-20 1902-02-09 1903-01-29 1904-02-17 1905-02-05 1906-02-24 1907-02-13 1908-02-03 1909-02-21
1910-02-10 1911-01-31 1912-02-19 1913-02-07 1914-02-25 1915-02-15 1916-02-04 1917-02-22 1918-02-12 1919-02-01
1920-02-20 1921-02-08 1922-01-28 1923-02-16 1924-02-05 1925-02-24 1926-02-13 1927-02-03 1928-02-22 1929-02-10
1930-01-30 1931-02-18 1932-02-07 1933-02-25 1934-02-14 1935-02-04 1936-02-23 1937-02-12 1938-02-01 1939-02-20
1940-02-09 1941-01-28 1942-02-16 1943-02-05 1944-02-25 1945-02-13 1946-02-03 1947-02-21 1948-02-10 1949-01-29
1950-02-17 1951-02-07 1952-02-26 1953-02-15 1954-02-04 1955-02-23 1956-02-12 1957-01-31 1958-02-19 1959-02-08
1960-02-27 1961-02-16 1962-02-05 1963-02-25 1964-02-14 1965-02-02 1966-02-21 1967-02-10 1968-01-30 1969-02-17
1970-02-07 1971-02-26 1972-02-15 1973-02-04 1974-02-23 1975-02-12 1976-02-01 1977-02-19 1978-02-08 1979-02-27
1980-02-17 1981-02-05 1982-02-24 1983-02-13 1984-02-02 1985-02-20 1986-02-09 1987-01-30 1988-02-18 1989-02-07
1990-02-26 1991-02-15 1992-02-04 1993-02-22 1994-02-11 1995-01-31 1996-02-19 1997-02-08 1998-02-27 1999-02-17
2000-02-06 2001-02-24 2002-02-13 2003-02-02 2004-02-21 2005-02-09 2006-01-30 2007-02-18 2008-02-08 2009-02-25
2010-02-14 2011-02-03 2012-02-22 2013-02-11 2014-01-31 2015-02-19 2016-02-09 2017-02-27 2018-02-16 2019-02-05

ceremony

During the New Year celebrations, families light candles at altars , which symbolize Buddhist enlightenment. In addition, people greet each other with greetings specific to Tsagaan Sar, including Амар байна уу? (Amar baina uu?), Which means “Is there peace?”. Many Mongolians also visit their friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. For example, a typical Mongolian family would meet at the home of the oldest member of the family. Most Mongols also dress in national Mongolian clothing. While greeting their eldest relatives during the Tsagaan Sar, Mongols perform the so-called Zolgokh (mn. Золгох) by grasping their elbows to symbolize support. The elder receives this greeting from every member of the family except for his / her spouse. During the welcoming ceremony, family members usually hold long blue silk scarves called khata . After the ceremony, the entire family eats sheep's tail, mutton, rice with raisins, dairy products and buuz . In addition, you drink Airag and exchange gifts.

The day before Tsagaan Sar is called Bituun ( битүүн ), which means dark moon . The phases of the moon are called Bituun (dark moon), Shined (waxing moon ), Tergel ( full moon ) and Huuchid (waning moon). On Bituun day, all families clean the house, with shepherds also cleaning the barns of the cattle herds to freshly face the New Year. The Bituun ceremony also includes the lighting of candles to symbolize enlightenment from samsara . In addition, three pieces of ice are placed in front of the door so that the horse of the deity Palden Lhamo can drink from it, as the deity is supposed to visit every single household on this day. In the evening, families from close circles gather as a contrast to the huge family gatherings on Tsagaan Sar Day and look back together on the almost completed year while they eat Buuz and dairy products. According to tradition, on this day the Mongols settle all the mistakes of the old year and settle their debts.

Tradition of celebration

Three days before the holiday, a special prayer is held in the temples dedicated to the Dharmapala - the ten deities who protect the teaching.

The greatest veneration among them is the goddess Sri Davy (Tib. Baldan Lhamo), who is considered the patron saint of the Tibetan capital Lhasa. A separate prayer is celebrated in her honor on the day immediately before the New Year. It is believed that the goddess Baldan Lhamo circled the earth three times on New Year's Day and checks her possessions: whether everyone is ready to celebrate the New Year, whether the house is clean, whether the children have been cared for, whether the cattle have been fed. In the coming year, the negligent will be punished and deprived of the protection of the Goddess, the worthy will be encouraged and can count on her help. In order to receive the blessings of the goddess, it is recommended not to sleep all night until 6 a.m. and either attend the prayers in the temple or read and practice mantras at home. For those who are not asleep and ask for help, Baldan Lhamo will exercise his patronage and help solve complex issues.

A characteristic element of the festival is also the rite of Dugjuuba, which takes place in the temple on the eve of the festival (the 30th of the twelfth month according to the lunar calendar). It is a ceremony of spiritual purification performed to get safely from the old to the new year and to get rid of the burden of the sins and misfortunes of the past year. In this prayer, it is customary to wipe yourself at home with a piece of dough (just flour and water, with no additives) - rolling the dough over the entire surface of one's body while imagining that everything bad is being pulled out of the body: Sickness, corruption and negative emotions. Then these tabals - the "symbols of evil" - must be thrown into the ritual campfire that is lit in the courtyard of the temple after the service - and everything bad is burned in the campfire.

eat

Traditional food for the festival includes dairy products, rice with curd (tsagaa-цагаа) or rice with raisins (berees-бэрээс), a pyramid of traditional pastries that extends on a large plate and symbolizes the Meru mountain or the Shambhala kingdom , a serving of grilled sheep and minced beef or lamb (buuds-бууз) steamed in batter, horse meat and traditional biscuits.

In socialism

During the period of socialism in Mongolia , the government banned Tsagaan Sar and tried to replace the festival with a holiday called Collective Shepherd Day ( Нэгдэлчдийн өдөр ) in 1960 , but Tsagaan Sar was reinstated after the democratic revolution .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tsagaan Sar the main celebration of the Mongols . Accessed August 2, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Mongoluls.net Tsagan Sar: The Mongolian Lunar New Year. Mongoluls 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  3. ↑ see Цагаан сар хэзээ болж байсан бэ? for the years 1900 to 2009
  4. ↑ for 2009 see Alan JK Sanders: Historical dictionary of Mongolia (=  Historical dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East . Volume 74 ). 3. Edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanhan 2010, pp. 138 ( full text in Google Book Search).
  5. ↑ sonin.mn: Монгол одон зурхайн тоолол ба “Алтан унжлагат” хэмээх гал тахиа жилийн төлөв байдал (under occupation шрслөв байдал (1896–2017).
  6. ↑ Амар байна уу? (Are you rested / peaceful?)
  7. ↑ a b c "Tsagaan Sar, the Lunar New Year" ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mongoliatoday.com
  8. ↑ Абаева Л. Л. История распространения буддизма в Бурятии // Буряты. М .: Наука, 2004. - ISBN 5-02-009856-6 - с. 411
  9. ↑ Kohn, Michael. Lonely Planet Mongolia . Lonely Planet, 2008, ISBN 978-1-74104-578-9 , p. 44
  10. ^ Marsh, Peter. The Horse-head Fiddle and the Cosmopolitan Reimagination of Tradition of Mongolia . Routledge, 2009, ISBN 978-0-415-97156-0 , p. 136