The Sagaalgan (Holiday of White Month) is a New Year by Lunar Calendar.

It is celebrated in February. The Sagalgaan is accompanied by festive ceremonies. After Buddhism had spread in Transbaikalia the holiday was included in the list of Buddhist holidays. Today it is celebrated both as a Buddhist and a public festival.

On the eve of the festival in Buddhist temples prayers are held to honor the goddess Lkhamo, the keeper of the faith who, according to the teaching, is revising the world this night. A special ritual is performed when the “sor”, symbolizing sins made by people during the year, is burnt. Then during fifteen days the khural, praying festival, devoted to spreading and strengthening the faith is held. Rich offerings are made. At home the icon places with deities are beautifully decorated. People put on new dresses and visit relatives and friends. The festive tables are served with holy white food (dairy products), the younger congratulate the elders, people give each other gifts.

The holiday is very popular nowadays. It is celebrated by almost every person in Buryatia irrespective of the faith and nationality. During the holiday different kinds of entertainment such as concerts, fashion shows, musical festivals are held, one of them is the international youth musical competition “White Month”.

Since the holiday is held after a short New Year Day by European Calendar, people have a wonderful opportunity to have longer holidays and it makes it easier to stand the period of coldest winter winds that happen to coincide with the holiday.

Pancake week

Maslenitsa (fair, wide, merry, semikova niece, cheese week) is a festival celebrated seven weeks before Easter. Earlier the feast lasted for a week and used to be celebrated in late February till the beginning of March. This ancient farmer’s holiday was spread in Buryatia by the Russian settlers and symbolized the end of winter, beginning of spring and new farm season. Every day of the holiday had its own name. Monday - “meetings”, Tuesday – “flirting”, Wednesday – “a sweet tooth day”, Thursday – “merry-making”, Friday - «mother–in-law’s parties”, Saturday – «sister-in-law’s gatherings”, Sunday – “Forgiveness Day”. That day everybody asks each other’s forgiveness and kisses each other on a cheek. Fisticuffs used to be arranged that day. Today this holiday is celebrated in Ulan-Ude in the Open Air Ethnographic Museum of People of Zabaikalia. A straw scare-crow as a symbol of winter is burnt, pan-cakes symbolizing the sun are made. People sing and dance roundelay. Folk group concerts, different competitions and games are arranged. The snow fortress is built to be attacked. Maslenitsa is a very joyful festival and tourists eagerly participate in it.

The Surkharban

The Surkharban is one of the most popular holidays celebrated by Mongol language speaking peo-ple. The word “Surkharban” means archery competition. Archers shoot at a special target, a small stake, wrapped by leather belt and driven into the ground. In Mongolia, this festival is known as Naadan, meaning “men’s three games”. It is celebrated once a year on the fist summer Sunday.

It is an ancient festival and was celebrated to honor spirits. Later it turned into a special military inspection when warriors were selected. Many people used to come to that holiday. Every village, kin, tribe used to send their best bators (wrestlers), mergens (archers) horses and horse riders. Buryat archers were the best in archery, one of the main type of martial arts of nomads. Wrestling was also among the favorite events. Horse races were the third event. There are unwritten rules on horse’s selection and training in Buryatia. Prizes used to be hundreds and thousands of heads of cat-tle. There were not only competitions during the festival.

People used to play games, sing ritual songs, dance and have festive meals. To dance Yokhor, a very energetic and rhythmical circle dance symbolizing unity was an obligatory activity. Nowadays, the Surkharban is a combination of traditional and new forms of culture. It is a festival of sports and song to awakening nature. The festival is celebrated annually in every district and the final celebration is in Ulan-Ude, the capital of the republic. It is held in the republican race track where thousands of people come to watch exciting events. Besides traditional sport events there are folk games and concerts of folk groups. There are yurtas mounted on the field by each rural district where one can taste traditional Buryat dishes. The Surkharban is one of the most interesting holidays in Buryatia and attracts both locals and visitors.