It is celebrated throughout the month of December, and it feels a lot like Christmas because many of the decorations used over Shine Jil look just like traditional Christmas decorations. However, Shine Jil means “New Year” and it is mainly a new year celebration. Another reason why it feels a lot like Christmas is that at many parties there is a Mongolian Santa. Mongolian Santa usually dresses in Mongolian traditional clothing and wears a Santa hat. The Mongolian New Year is quite similar to the Russian New Year because, although it is a New Year celebration, a character that looks like Santa plays a central roll in the festivities.
Tsagaan Sar is the next major holiday after Shine Jil and it is one of the most important holidays in Mongolia. Tsagaan Sar is especially exciting because, in America, there is no holiday like Tsagaan Sar. Tsagaan Sar translates into “White Moon” and the date of the holiday changes every year because it is based on the Lunar calendar. Moreover, the holiday officially lasts for three days each year and the traditions of Tsagaan Sar are many centuries old. Preparations for Tsagaan Sar begin weeks in advance. One of my friends named Alta told me how, about a month before the holiday, she gets together with her entire extended family and they make thousands of Buuz (Mongolian dumplings). After making dumplings, families then freeze them so that during the busy celebrations of Tsagaan Sar, food is already prepared. Moreover, families also begin making elegant new clothes leading up to Tsagaan Sar. Then, the day before Tsagaan Sar, families clean every aspect of their homes from top to bottom. You can think of this process like spring cleaning in America.
