- Categories:
- Cultural
- Tags:
- Cultural HolidaysFestivities
- Where:
- Mongolia
- Date change rule:
- First day of the Mongolian lunar new year
- Holiday emoji:
- 🎊
Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year, ushers in spring with three days of vibrant cultural festivities, typically observed in February or March. This important celebration brings families together for traditional meals, blessings, and the exchange of gifts. Join in the joyful customs, learn about the rich heritage, and embrace the spirit of renewal.
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Expected Tsagaan Sar Deals
As Tsagaan Sar approaches, look for local Mongolian cultural centers and community organizations to host special events, traditional performances, and markets featuring authentic foods and crafts. Travel agencies specializing in Central Asia may offer packages to experience the festivities firsthand in Mongolia. Local businesses catering to the Mongolian diaspora might offer discounts on traditional clothing or ingredients for holiday meals. We will update this page with confirmed live cultural events and community initiatives as February 2027 approaches.
Platform Guide for Tsagaan Sar
Tag @nationaltoday_ and use #TsagaanSar. Share photos of your family’s Tsagaan Sar feast, traditional attire, or greetings with elders.
Mention National Today (facebook.com/nationaltoday) and use #TsagaanSar. Engage with community groups sharing stories and tips for celebrating the Mongolian New Year.
TikTok
Tag @www.nationaltoday.com and use #TsagaanSar. Produce short-form videos explaining Tsagaan Sar traditions, demonstrating how to make buuz (dumplings), or showcasing traditional Mongolian music.
Tsagaan Sar Hero
Zanabazar
History of Tsagaan Sar
‘Tsagaan Sar’ translates to ‘White Moon’ and is the first day of the lunar year. As the name implies, the festival has a lot to do with the cycles of the moon.
The Mongol people have always had festivals around the lunar cycles. During the Liao Dynasty, there were five moon festivals. The great explorer Marco Polo has described a Mongolian Lunar New Year festival being celebrated by Emperor Kublai Khan in his books as well.
Tsagaan Sar celebrates the New Year, the arrival of Spring, and the virtues of peace and harmony. A lot of importance is placed on the purity of spirit, especially when visiting family and relatives. The majority of celebrations are centered on family, and most people visit all their relatives during the three days of the celebrations.
The day before the New Year, called Bituun, is the phase of the lunar cycle where the moon is new, or the phase of the dark moon. On this day, Mongolian people clean their houses in preparation for New Year’s Day.
On the main day, Mongols will gather at the house of the oldest family member, and the elders get greeted first, and then everyone sits together to eat the traditional foods of sheep’s tail, rice with curds, traditional Mongolian dumplings, dairy products, and mutton. People will also exchange gifts with family and friends on this day.
Tsagaan Sar timeline
During the rule of this Mongolian dynasty, there are mentions of Lunar festival celebrations such as the Five Moon Festival.
Genghis Khan, the Mongolian Emperor, adopts the twelve-year animal cycle for the Mongol people and celebrates every lunar new year.
Marco Polo writes about the great feast that was thrown by Kublai Khan and how everyone wore white in honor of the festival.
The Mongolian Lunar New Year is nominated for the Intangible Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO.
Tsagaan Sar FAQs
When is Tsagaan Sar?
In 2027, Tsagaan Sar commences on Monday, February 7, and lasts through February 9. This important cultural festival ushers in spring, with traditions focused on blessings for prosperity and happiness in the new year.
How is Tsagaan Sar celebrated?
The three-day festival is marked by family reunions, where people don traditional clothing and exchange greetings. Guests are typically offered a variety of festive foods, and a special greeting ritual, ‘zolgokh,’ is performed to show respect to elders, symbolizing good health and longevity.
How many people celebrate Tsagaan Sar?
Millions worldwide observe Tsagaan Sar, with celebrations extending beyond Mongolia’s borders to ethnic Mongol groups in Inner Mongolia (China) and Buryatia (Russia), alongside expatriate communities. The holiday unites these diverse groups in a shared cultural tradition.
What does Tsagaan Sar mean?
The name ‘Tsagaan Sar’ reflects the deep cultural significance of the color white, which represents purity and new life in Mongolian tradition. It signifies a fresh start, a time to cleanse the old and welcome the blessings of the coming spring, often associated with dairy products.
Tsagaan Sar Activities
Visit your friends and family
A big part of the White Moon celebrations is spending time with your loved ones. So go on and organize a big family reunion!
Eat some buuz
These traditional dumplings are an important part of the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebrations. Order in from your favorite Mongolian restaurant or make some on your own.
Buy gifts for your Mongolian friends
Gift-giving is another part of Mongolia’s New Year celebrations. Show your Mongolian friends how much you love them, by celebrating with them and treating them like family.
5 Extremely Cool Facts About Tsagaan Sar
Mongolian people settle debts by Bituun
It's considered bad luck to have debts hanging over you in the New Year, so Mongolian people settle their debts by New Year’s Eve.
There’s a greeting ceremony on the day
During the greeting ceremony on New Year’s day, the family members hold long pieces of blue silk cloth called ‘khadag.’
Three pieces of ice are set out
Ice is set at the doorway for the deity Palden Lhamo to drink when she arrives to visit.
There’s a cookie mountain
Traditional cookies are arranged in the shape of Mount Sumeru, as part of the main Lunar New Year feast.
The festival was banned
The communist government tried to ban it in 1952, but people resumed celebrating the holiday after the democratic movement of 1990.
Why We Love Tsagaan Sar
We want to eat buuz and ul boov
Buuz, the traditional dumplings, and ul boov, a region-specific cookie, are foods that are extra special to the Mongolian people and extremely delicious. And New Year’s Day is the best time to eat them!
We want a peaceful New Year
With Tsagaan Sar’s focus on purity and harmony, we believe celebrating the Mongolian Lunar New Year is the best way to have a calm and peaceful new year. Why not join in on the celebration and ring in your best New Year?
It’s an important piece of world culture
There may be a lot of cultures celebrating the Lunar New Year, but the Mongolian celebrations are special. They are culturally significant to the whole world, and we want to celebrate with the Mongolian people.
Tsagaan Sar dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | February 18 | Wednesday |
| 2027 | February 7 | Sunday |
| 2028 | February 26 | Saturday |
| 2029 | February 14 | Wednesday |
| 2030 | February 3 | Sunday |
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