National holidaysMongolia's two biggest national holidays are the Lunar New Year celebration Tsagaan Sar and the Naadam sports festival. While Naadam is always held on 11-12 July, Tsagaan Sar s dates vary, as it reflects the irregular lunar calendar cycles. Both holidays are celebrated nationwide and give Mongolians a chance to dress in their most elegant deels, while the nation's best-known wrestlers vie against one another, attempting to acquire super star status, at giant competitions. Mongolians are intensely proud of both holidays, which also offer interested foreigners an opportunity to see the nation celebrate in style.
Tsagaan sar Its name means White Month' and the holiday welcomes the spring while commemorating the passing of winter. Tsagaan Sar originally marked the end of summer, but once again it was Chinggis Khan who changed things, moving the event to the end of winter in 1216. The Mongolian lunar calendar uses five cycles of twelve years, each cycle being named after an element (earth, water, fire, iron and wind), and each year after one of twelve animals. The Lunar calendar doesn't operate within the European twelve-month system, hence the lunar New Year dates change every year. The festival is usually celebrated at the end of January or the beginning of February, and officially lasts three days. The best place to celebrate Tsagaan Sar is the countryside, where a visitor can clearly see Mongolian’s time honored traditional customs and culture. During the holiday, people greet each other in a uniqueway; young people plice their hands under the outstretched arms of older people and year greeting that means ‘how are you’ . It will seem like everyone visits everyone (from close relatives to acquaintances) for tsagaan sar. The three days honoring the white monts principally invote sitting round a ger stove and passing food and drink back and forth, always using the right hand to accept food or alcohol. Visitors are given gifts at almost every ger they visit. In Ulaanbaatar Tsagaan sar is a shorter holiday, but with the same hospitality and visiting schedule, as well as eating and drinking behavior. Naadam This annual sports festival is the most famous celebration across the country. It features the three manly sports: wrestling archery and horse racing. Naadam is celebrated across the country and every town and village holds its own wrestling, archery and horse racing contests. The official Naadam opening ceremony in Ulaanbaatar is quite spectacular. Riders dress as Chinggis Khan’s entourage and lead a huge procession around the Naadam Stadium, which features hundreds of adults and children dressed in costumes, representing all Mongolia's ethic groups. In Ulaanbaatar, wrestling takes place in the main stadium, while archery competitions ions occur all around the structure; the famously perilous horse races are held near the Chinggis Khan Airport.
Wrestling Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports. While the sport takes place in countries all over the world, Mongol-style wrestling involves distinct rituals and techniques, which some historians claim originated 7,000 years ago. There are no weight categories or age limits in Mongolian national wrestling. The wrestlers wear heavy boots (gutuls), a very small, tight-fitting loin cloth (known as zodog and shuudag), a pair of sleeves which meet across the back of the shoulders, resembling a tiny vestige of a jacket, and a pointed cap of velvet. The contestants come out during a competition, leaping, dancing, and flapping their arms like an eagle. Each wrestler has his attendant herald The aim of the sport is to knock your opponent off balance and throw him down, making him touch the ground with his elbow and knee. The loser walks under the raised arms of the winner as a sign of respect, and unties his vest, after which the victor, again performing the eagle dance, takes a turn round the flag in the center of the field. The victor receives symbolically important prize-biscuits and aaruul, or dried curds; once he has tasted these he offers them to his seconds and spectators. Traditionally, either one thousand and twenty-four of five hundred and twelve wrestlers participate in a contest today the latter is more common. At the National Naadam festival held in Ulaanbaatar, nine rounds are held. Those who lose in one round are eliminated from further rounds. A wrestler who beats five opponents at the event is awarded the title of "Falcon"; one who wins seven a rounds is given the title of "Elephant”. A wrestler becomes a champion by winning nine rounds, obtaining the title of “Lion”, and if he wins two years in row he is called "Giant". If a he wrestler becomes a three-time champion at. Naadam the attribute "Nation-wide” is added to his title. A fourth such accomplishment and he is dubbed “Invincible”. The winner of the tournament receive honorary titles and are also awarded various. For them, however, the main award is the truly nation-wide popularity and fame that they acquire in the process. Horse racing Another popular and ancient Mongolian sport, which traces its origins back to the Bronze Age, is horse racing. For the Naadam races, trainers select horses at least one month before the big day. The animals are separated from the herd, taken to an adequate pasture, and trained. Racehorses are divided into several age groups: two, three, four and five year olds; over five years or adult horses, and stallions. The riders range in age from five to 12. Mongolian children are generally excellent equestrians, as many boys and girls have been riding since infancy. As the popular saying goes, "The nomad is born in the saddle". Small saddles are made especially for children, but they usually prefer to ride without them. They are not only superb riders, but also skillful tacticians; they know how to hold the horse back so it has enough strength to last the entire race. Competitions are not held on special racetracks, but right across the steppe, where riders are confronted with various obstacles such as rivers, ravines and hills. The dis¬tance varies according to the age of the horse-between 15 and 35 kilometers. Riders dress in bright, comfortable clothes. On their backs they wear vari¬ous symbolic designs, which also em¬bellish the horses' attire. The start and the finish provide a race's most exciting moments. Before the beginning of each contest, the young jockeys ride round the starting point three times yelling the ancient call, "Ciingo!", a kind of war-cry. When every horse steps of hind the boundary line, an official gives the starting command and the riders surge forward, setting the long-awaited race in motion. After the main Nadaam races winning riders trot a full circuit around Ulaanbaatar's Central Stadium, accompanied by a herald. The winning horse receives the honorary title "Forehead of Ten Thousand Race Horses” and the five runners-up are awarded with medals and are informally dubbed the "Airag Five". Tradition dictates that the victorious riders do three on their mounts, on the winning I mi do three laps of honor, then ride to grandstand, where each child drinks a large bowl of airag fermented mare’s milk. He or she (most riders boys, are n but some girls have been known to compete) then pours some on his mount's rump. The herald in turn, chants a poem about the virtues the horse, its rider and its owner, riders who finish last also figure into the post-race ceremony. The slowest horse and his jockey make their way to the main platform after the winners have departed. Although the young boy's face typically conveys vexation and shame he faces no derision from the spectators. Instead they shout encouragement and to boost his confidence, and a nationally renowned storyteller pedal ode expressing faith in the boy’s future success.
Archery Amply information about archery appears in historical documents dating back to the 13th century and even before. Many believe the technology for this celebrated ancient sport emerged In the region as early as 300-200 BC, but historians say, archery contests were fist held in the 11th century. Mongols use a compound bow, in layers of horn, sinew, bark and wood. When unstrung it is not straight curved. Archery remains more archaic and ritualistic than the nation’s other sports. Targets consist of small woven leather rings (some of which are painted red), laid out on the ground in a row, several meters across. Flat targets offer a challenging exercise in gauging trajectory for the archers. In olden times, women did not participate in these contests, but in the last few decades they have started to do so. The distance to the targets is about 75 meters for men and 60 meters for women. Men shoot about 40 arrows and must score no less than 15 points to advance in the competition; women shoot 20 arrows and must score at least 13 points using the same bow as the men. When an arrow hits the target, a group of people standing near the target (acting as judges) raise the cry ol "Uukhai!", and make signs with their hands to indicate a hit. The archer who scores the most points wins, earning the title Mergen (Super-marksman) as a result. Mongolian Sumo Stars Currently the world's two best Sumo wrestlers hail from Mongolia. Other than their shared nationality and domination of the sport, however, they have title in common. Following a match, modest statements are characteristic of M. Davaajargal known as Hakuho in Japan a UNESCO honored athlete, who has earned a reputation as a classically respectable wrestler. A grand champion or yokozuna, the young wrestler has already won more than 10 Emperor's Cups 24. His demeanor and reputation could not be different than that of D.Dagvadorj-alias Asashoryu—the reputed ‘bad boy’ of sumo. In a notoriously decorous sport, the wrestler has yanked out an opponent's top knot; missed a training session to participate in a fashion show; pumped his fist after a victory, and famously been suspended for participating in a charity soccer match while covering from an injury. Needless to say these and other acts have horrified sumo purists, just as Asashoryu's skill has amazed them. Considered one of the top-five greatest wrestlers in sumo's modern era, Asashoryu has a good chance of claiming 30 championships before he reaches 30 years of age. It’s not unusual to see these two rivals fight a decisive battle at one of the bimonthly tournaments held around Japan. When that happens, many Mongolians stop everything to gather around a TV, pulling for their favorite contender (Asashoryu holds the popularity edge in his homeland), Even if you’re not a fan of wrestling, it's worth taking a few minutes to watch these titans clash in a sport that has become a new part of Mongolia's wrestling traditions.
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