Ulaanbaatar
Tsagaan Sar - Lunar New Year celebration begins in Mongolia
PoliticsUlaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In Mongolia, today is the Eve of the Lunar New year – Tsagaan Sar. The Mongolian Lunar New Year rituals begin on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve when every family cleans their home. The title of the day can be translated as ’Dust Beating Day’ because homes are beaten off their dust as everyone engages in the cleaning and washing campaign to welcome the New Year afresh.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, which is called Bituun (literal meaning; close down) and can be understood as a preparatory day, households prepare a big feast for a Bituun ceremony which begins after sunset. The last day of the year is called Bituun because the moon can’t be seen on this day and all unfinished business must be settled within the day.
Bituun ceremony begins after sunset. All families cook foods and set the table for dairy products, drinks and sweets and put a white stone, limpid ice at the west jamb of the door. It is an auspicial to open door of good direction’s owner and periapt. Also, they put thorny bush, sagebrush at the east jamb of the door. It means to close bad direction’s internal malfeasance.
All behaviors of Lunar New Year’s Eve or Bituun have full of optimism and brightness to welcome the New Year. That day, Mongolians symbolize that all of unpleasant memories will be stayed with old year and door of satisfied and wealthy life will be opened in an upcoming New Year.
On the evening of the Lunar New Year’s Eve or Bituun, Mongolians wear clean and nice clothes and gather in each of their parents’ home to eat dinner. During the Lunar New year eve’s dinner, elder people tell their children and youngsters folk tales and myths and all members of the family play knucklebone games and other traditional games. It is customarily prohibited to leave their livestock animals or belongings at the place of others, drink heavily, talk about any bad things or news, argue with someone and stay hungry.
