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EveryParampara

Traditions of Ulaanbaatar

The Mongolian capital, where the Naadam festival of wrestling, archery and horse racing gathers the nation each July.

Ulaanbaatar is the coldest national capital in the world, a city of apartment blocks, ger districts and monasteries. Mongolian nomadic traditions, from the felt ger to horse culture, remain part of urban life. The Naadam festival, in July, is the great national event, and Tsagaan Sar, the white month, is the lunar new year.

Ulaanbaatar: View of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, with the Blue Sky Tower.
Photo: Zazaa Mongolia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Naadam and Tsagaan Sar

At Naadam, boys and girls race horses across the steppe, archers shoot at targets, and wrestlers in short shirts compete in an eagle dance of victory. The Tsagaan Sar is a time for visiting elders, with a stack of biscuits, dairy and a sheep's back on the table. People greet each other with a gesture of respect, holding out arms with palms up.

At the table

Mongolians eat dairy and meat: buuz, steamed dumplings, khuushuur, fried mutton pastries, and airag, fermented mare's milk, in summer. Suutei tsai is salty milk tea. A guest is always offered a drink, and the cup is taken with the right hand.

Signature traditions of Ulaanbaatar

NaadamThe three manly games of Mongolia.Tsagaan SarThe Mongolian lunar new year.

Also part of it, and being written: Yurt (The felt tent home.), Buuz (Mongolian steamed dumplings.), Mongolian throat singing (Khöömei, the overtone singing.).

A trail idea for Ulaanbaatar

  1. Gandan Monastery Hear monks chant in the morning.
  2. Naadam Stadium See wrestling in July.
  3. National Museum of Mongolia Look at the dels and horse gear.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreShagaiшагай Traditional ankle bone games and fortune-telling played across Central Asia.Game 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 2 moreMongolian wrestlingBökh A traditional folk wrestling style of the Mongols, kept as a central part of Naadam festivals across Mongolia and neighbGame 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and 1 moreNaadamнаадам A midsummer festival of wrestling, horse racing, and archery kept by Mongols in Mongolia and neighboring regions.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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