Tsagaan Sar: the zolgokh greeting

Origins

Tsagaan Sar, the "White Month" or "White Moon", is the Mongolian lunar new year and the most important family holiday of the year. It marks the first day of the first month of the Mongolian lunisolar calendar, usually in late January, February or early March; it often coincides with the Chinese and Tibetan new year, but not always, because Mongolia follows its own calendar system. In 2026 it fell on 18 to 20 February. White stands for purity, good intentions and the dairy foods that symbolise abundance. Marco Polo described a White Feast at the court of Kublai Khan, where people dressed in white and exchanged gifts. During the socialist period the holiday was banned for a time and replaced with a herders' day, and it returned to full public celebration with the democratic changes of around 1990.

How it works today

Bituun, named after the dark moon, is the last evening of the old year. Families clean their homes and animal shelters, settle debts and disputes, and gather for a large meal of buuz and dairy foods. Some place three pieces of ice at the doorway for the horse of the protective deity Palden Lhamo. The idea is to finish the year full, with nothing left owing.

On the first day, many people rise early and families gather at the home of the eldest relative, often dressed in deel. The central ritual is the zolgokh greeting. The younger person places their arms beneath the elder's forearms as if supporting them, and the elder touches or sniffs each of the younger person's cheeks. Both say "Amar baina uu?" ("Are you living in peace?"). A long silk khadag scarf, usually blue, is often held across the hands. Everyone greets the eldest except their spouse; married couples do not greet each other this way.

After that come days of visits to relatives, friends and colleagues. Each host lays out a table with the uuts (boiled sheep's back), a tower of ul boov biscuits topped with white foods, and plates of buuz, and offers milk tea and drinks. Snuff bottles are exchanged and gifts are given to guests as they leave.

What visitors should know

• If you are invited, a modest gift is appropriate. Offer and receive gifts, food and snuff bottles with your right hand or both hands.
• When offered a snuff bottle, receive it with your right hand, take a small sniff and hand it back to its owner.
• Eat at least one buuz at each home. Visits stack up, so take small portions.
• Expect toasts with vodka. It is polite to touch the cup to your lips and set it down if you do not drink.
• Many shops and offices close over the three-day holiday, so plan transport and supplies in advance.