Tsagaan Sar is the Mongolian lunar new year. ‘White’ refers not to snow but to dairy, the white food that symbolises purity and good fortune. The date shifts with the lunar calendar; in 2027 it falls in mid-February.
The Preparation
For weeks beforehand, families make buuz (mutton dumplings) by the thousand. 1,000 is not an exaggeration. 3,000 for a large household is common. They are frozen outside in the cold.
Bituun: The Closing
New Year's Eve. The family eats together. Nothing is left on the table, to leave food is to invite hunger in the new year. A silver coin or a piece of coal may be slipped into a dumpling for luck.
Day 1: Visit the Eldest
Dawn. Put on the dell (traditional overcoat). Visit the oldest living relative first. Greeting is performed with both hands under the elder's elbows, zolgolt. Exchange small gifts. Drink milk tea. Eat buuz. Move to the next house. Repeat for three days.
The Altar
A table in the place of honour with stacked layers of boortsog (fried biscuits) in odd numbers, 3, 5, 7 depending on family seniority, topped with dried curd, candy, and a boiled sheep's back (uuts).
Visiting as a Foreigner
If you are invited to a family for Tsagaan Sar, accept. Bring a blue silk khadag (offering scarf) and a small gift, tea, chocolate, a bottle of something good. Eat at least three buuz. Compliment the grandmother.
