Winter Mongolia Experience, Mongolia New Year Event, First Sunrise Viewing　　

Celebrate New Year's Eve and the Lunar New Year the Mongolian way together with a nomad family.
No need to worry about winter clothing: Mongolian deel, shoes and hats are available for rental. All you can eat!!! All you can drink!!!
Every people in the world has its own special events and festivals. The festival that the Mongolian people, nomads of the Central Asian steppe, celebrate grandly is Tsagaan Sar (New Year).
Historical records say that in 1206 Tsagaan Sar (New Year) was first celebrated in autumn as one of the state's official events. After that, from 1267, by order of Kublai Khan of the Yuan state, it came to be celebrated in spring rather than autumn. In the 20th century, depending on Mongolia's social environment, celebrating it was prohibited or a regulation was set that only rural nomads would celebrate it, but from 1990 it has again been celebrated nationwide. Tsagaan Sar (New Year) is a grand festival celebrated lavishly, so it has a special order.

Preparation. Preparations for the Tsagaan Sar (New Year) events, feasts and so on begin a month in advance. Good preparation is considered auspicious, and if anything is lacking it is said to be inauspicious for that whole year. For this reason, with auspiciousness in mind, great effort is put into preparation.

Clothing. As it is the new year, everyone wears new clothes, which is thought to bring a healthy, bright year. Food and drink. Preparation of food and drink begins around autumn. Great effort is made to gather everything needed. Meat is specially prepared for the children who come to greet at Tsagaan Sar (New Year). Raising children's expectations and letting them have a bad experience is strictly forbidden. The main dishes are whole boiled sheep or buuz. A household makes 300–500 buuz on average. Buuz has the convenience of being served immediately to guests, and is considered an auspicious dish in the sense of being "closed".

New Year's Eve feast. Mongolia also has Bituun (New Year's Eve). On this day the moon cannot be seen and it is dark, as if closed. On this day, everything unfinished from the departing year is settled; for example, there are customs such as repaying debts and finishing sewing. On the night of Bituun (New Year's Eve) the clan gathers, prepares a lot of food, eats plenty, and plays late into the night with shagai (sheep ankle bones). The meals prepared are "closed" foods such as buuz, banshtai tsai (dumplings) and khuushuur (fried pastries). Khuushuur (fried pastries) have been thought to drive away the bad things of the departing year with smoke. Ice is placed above the west side of the ger, a mulberry-family plant above the east side, and snow divided into three, and so on. This means driving away all bad things and not letting them into the house. Also, on the night of Bituun (New Year's Eve) there is a custom of lighting candles. The Bituun (New Year's Eve) events concern not only people but also livestock and property. For example, hitting livestock or killing animals on this day is strictly forbidden. There is also a custom of leaving livestock other than horses out in herds outside the house. Also, visiting other people's homes on this day is prohibited, and there is a saying that "by staying at home, good things stay in the house".

Rite of worship to the gods. On the morning of New Year's Day, it is important to rise before the sun rises. When the sun rises, people take food and climb near the house, or to a nearby mountain or hill, and offer it to the gods. This means first greeting the "gods" and the "sky".

Rite of footsteps. After greeting the gods, people walk toward the "good direction that came out in divination" for the new year, entrusting their fate to the gods. By performing the rite of footsteps, everything for that whole year is thought to go well.   

Greetings. On the morning of New Year's Day, after finishing the rite of worship to the gods and the rite of footsteps, the whole family greets each other in the house. Grandfather and grandmother sit at the back, and the young people greet them in turn holding a khadag (silk scarf). However, a married couple does not greet each other. This is because a couple is considered one person, and greeting is regarded as an inauspicious act. With greetings such as "Are you well?", "Are you having a good New Year?" and "How was the winter?", the reply comes "Well, and you?", "We got through the winter well", "Did all the livestock get through the winter safely?" and so on. After the greetings, everyone eats and drinks together. Unlike other festivals, Tsagaan Sar (New Year) is characterized by not singing. People talk about the past year, reflect, and talk about goals for the new year.

Tsagaan Sar Visits

At Tsagaan Sar (New Year) people go to greet relatives and respected people at their homes. Everyone wears their best clothes, rides good horses, and goes to greet together. At the house visited, it is the custom to be served dairy products, liquor and food in that order. Also, distinguishing between acquaintances and others is forbidden. As mentioned above, Tsagaan Sar (New Year), the traditional festival of the Mongolian people, is a festival with a long history and unique customs and order.

Winter Mongolian Wrestling

In Mongolia wrestling tournaments are held only in summer. Even in winter a wrestling tournament is held every year at the Wrestling Palace. As the next biggest event after the Naadam festival, at the New Year event 256 wrestlers from Mongolia's 21 provinces take part, wrestling in a single day.

Dog Sledding Experience

There are many dog sledding experiences around the world, but in winter Mongolia you can experience becoming the musher (driver) yourself and controlling the sled. Mongolia is the country nearest to Japan where you can experience dog sledding. If you proceed following the instructor (teacher)'s directions, you can glide exhilaratingly across the great snowfield with the dogs' light steps. Please try Mongolian winter and dog sledding at least once.

Winter Mongolia Experience, Mongolia New Year Event, First Sunrise Viewing 5–6 Day Course

*The above itinerary and times may change locally depending on weather and traffic congestion on the day. In that case, please follow the instructions of the local staff. We appreciate your understanding.
*Meals may become box lunches, and the hotel / restaurant / ger may each be changed.
* For an additional fee:HelicopterScenic flight: no windows, full of thrills! You can also see the superb view of the grand steppe from the sky <20 minutes>

• The above price is the per-person price when the tour runs with2people. Depending on the number of participants, a more economical price plan may be available.
• Accommodation is the hotel listed above or a hotel of equivalent class.
• In Ulaanbaatar city hotels, two people normally share one room.
• If one person uses a room alone, an additional charge of $40 per night applies.
• At tourist camps, rooms (gers) are normally shared by 2–4 people.
• If you use a tourist camp ger as a single, an additional charge of $25 per night applies.
• An English-speaking guide stays with you throughout, and a professional licensed driver is arranged.
• The vehicle is a private vehicle suited to the number of people: sedan, minibus, 4WD, etc.
• Meals: as stated in the itinerary (standard three-course meals)
• Sightseeing and meals may change due to local conditions such as weather or flight delays.
• We also accept requests for additional arrangements such as extra nights, a private guide or a private car, and for hotel specification or upgrades.
  *Please consult us when booking.
• We can arrange Mongolia flight tickets. If you wish, please clickMongolia discount flight tickets.
• Based on this itinerary, we can also arrange extending your stay or adding destinations. Please feel free to consult us.