I check the temperature before leaving my apartment and plan my errands around how long I can stay outside comfortably. One day after class, a Mongolian colleague invited me to their family’s Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian Lunar New Year) celebration. They explained that the holiday comes at a time when people can feel winter beginning to loosen its hold. Celebrating Tsagaan Sar is a way to honor the land that sustains us through the hardest months and to recognize that change is on the horizon. Cleaning the home, gathering with family and wearing new clothes create a moment to prepare to move forward into the new year.
By counting the Nine Nines this winter, I have become more in tune with my environment and gained a deeper understanding of why the Mongolian New Year is not fixed to a calendar date like January 1st, but instead begins with the natural shift of the seasons.
