Mongolians will celebrate the lunar new year, known as the ‘White Moon’ (Tsagaan Sar) on 27^th of February. According to a statement by the Gandantegchelin Monastery, Mongolia's main Buddhist centre, the  27^th of February is first day of spring under the lunar calendar.

Most years the Mongolian, or more correctly Tibetan 'White Moon' festival coincides with Chinese New Year, which this year takes place on 27^th of January. There have been disputes about the date of the ‘White Moon’ festival. This has now been formally resolved.

The 'White Moon' is one of the Mongolia's two main national festivals and is a family-oriented event in which people, often in full national dress, visit relatives and friends. Normally, for several days before, the women of the household make hundreds of buuz, which are traditional steamed dumplings. These are eaten with lamb, dairy products and, often copious amounts of vodka. The festival is also celebrated in Russia among the Buryats, living north of Mongolia and the Kalmyks, who migrated to European Russia in the seventeenth century.