The Year of the Iron Tiger begins February 14, 2010 according to the lunar calendar. Mongolia’s New Year Holiday or Tsagaan Sar is a symbolic holiday where people express respect to elders and each other, and welcome New Year’s well-being. It is considered to add one year of age to every person and mark the beginning of the New Year cycle by the passing of a harsh winter.

Astrologers preliminarily determine colors and character of the coming year in association with characters of the main planet and stars and other associated planets. Astrologer L. Terbish said, “Incoming ‘Year of the Iron Tiger’ will be a year with an abundance of milk and milk products and pleasant for intellectual people to gain prestige. An outbreak of Infectious disease is probable; therefore being respectful and peaceful in any affairs is needed to avoid three bad characters; anger, greed and foolishness.”

To analyze the traits of an incoming year, astrologers astrologically draw the appearance of a ‘Bovine and cattle herder’ and interpret it. Astrologer L. Terbish depicted an image of a bovine and cattle herder for the Year of the Tiger and explained as follows:

Bovine walking slowly symbolizes that the Year will be comfortable for livestock. The head of a bovine appears white, meaning that the beginning of every season will have precipitation. If the abdomen of the bovine looks green, it shows that the middle of each season will be relatively windy and stormy. This year, the main body of the bovine is depicted green which means that middle of the year will be windy, but with plenty of plant life. The horn, tail and ears also look green; therefore the first month of every season will be very windy. The snout of the bovine is blue, meaning that the spring and summer will have plenty of rain. The four feet of the bovine are white, which shows that a strong storm will occur at the end of spring and summer, with hailstorms. It also shows that snow storms will occur at the end of autumn and winter.

A cattle herder running in front of the bovine shows the probable occurrence of turmoil among people, even though it will be comfortable for livestock.

The hair of the herder is blowing around the back of his right ear and front of left ear, and he is wearing shoes. This symbolizes that the year will have plenty of rain, but will not be peaceful for people.

Also the cattle herder is young; therefore, the year will be peaceful for youth, tough for children and harmful for elders. The cattle herder is holding a whip; therefore state officials will be powerful.

Ch. Dambajav, Hamba Lama of Dashchoilin Monastery said, “The Year of the Tiger will be plentiful with storms, wind and precipitation and tough for children. If everyone begins the New Year by imagining one’s work in good ways and making a good start in one’s work by realizing sorrows and happiness happened in the country during the past time, it will be effective throughout the year.” He also explained the bovine and cattle herder, “Domination of blue color in the bovine’s body means that the year will have an abundance of rain and the possible danger of floods. Throughout the year, it will be cooler, windy, and stormy and have precipitation in the beginning of every season. Take precaution to prevent infectious diseases in the last month of autumn and the first month of winter. Also, a storm is likely in the last month of winter, causing a disaster. The bovine’s feet are white, meaning we will have plenty of rain. According the tail moving in rings into its left side, the year will be comfortable for youth, tough for elders and toughest for children. State officials will be powerful; therefore follow laws and regulations strictly. Livestock including horses and cows will increase and milk will be plentiful.

According to the Gregorian calendar, Mongolia’s New Year falls on different dates each year, somewhere between January 30 and February 27.

In combination with the 12-year rhythm of the lunar zodiac signs and a 2-year rhythm of the female and male versions of the 5 elements (iron, water, wood, fire, earth), this makes up a 60-year cycle, or jaran (12 x 5). Following this calendar, starting from the year 1027, we now live in the 17th jaran which started in 1987.

Generally, each year is divided into lunar months that, in principle, consist of thirty days, but might be shorter as some days are not counted and some days are counted twice.

This 12-year cycle was historically adopted by the Göktürks (the first evidence of its use being in the year 584), subsequently spreading among many if not most Turkic peoples, as well as the Mongols, as well as to China.

The 12-animal zodiac is only used by the Chinese to name years - it is not used in the actual calendar calculation. The Chinese, in fact, have a very different constellatio1 system.

The Mongol 12-year calendar has been in use since ancient times. Each of the 12 years distinguish themselves from one another through their own names; all years are named and now symbolized by the following 12 animals - mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog and the pig. Traditionally, each year has unique characteristics that are similar to its name. For example, the year of the monkey will take on the monkey’s personality traits: hyper and rambunctious. The result: a very long, difficult and harsh year.

Two versions of the Mongolian lunar calendar generally exist in the country. One is the Yellow calendar, influenced by the Chinese lunar calendar, and the other is the Tugsbuyant calendar, closely related to the Tibetan lunar calendar. The main variation between the Yellow and Tugsbuyant calendars is a slightly different calculation system: the Tugsbuyant calendar skips and doubles days, similarly to the Tibetan calendar, while the Yellow does not.

The New Year day in these two calendars thus varies between them in some years, resulting public debate on which one should be followed. However, the Tugsbuyant calendar, based on a Tibetan lunar calendar adopted in 1747, is commonly used in Mongolia today.

In 1911 the Tugsbuyant calendar was officially recognized by the Bogd Khaan enthroned as the Emperor (Khan) of Mongolia in that same year, when the country also declared independence from the Manchu’s Qing Dynasty that had ruled both Mongolia and China and it remained in use until the 1920s. Then, from the 1920s, Mongolia started using both the Gregorian calendar (officially in 1948) together with, possibly, the Yellow calendar. Proof of the Yellow calendar’s use until the 1950s is that the Tsagaan Sar festival, on January 26, 1952 according to the Yellow calendar was changed by the authorities as that date had been declared a day of mourning following the death of the Mongolian communist leader, Kh. Choibalsan in Moscow on January 26, 1952.

Then the communist government tried to rename it as Cattle Breeders’ Day and the previous official celebrations were stopped. As Tsagaan sar, however, remains culturally essential among Mongolians, it was almost impossible to totally prohibit its continuation. When the only option for the then ruling MPRP party in trying to reaffirm traditions was to revive the Tugsbuyant calendar in late 1960s, it again became a public holiday mostly in rural areas. After Democratic Revolution in the 1990s, it was commonly celebrated throughout the nation but the festival still retains its pre-revolutionary characteristic reaffirmation of kinship ties.

<< BACK