Key Points
- Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year, translates to White Moon.
- Members of Australia’s Mongolian community share how they will mark the occasion with food and family on 1-3 March.
- But one family say they have decided to return home after a decade abroad.
Despite living in Australia for 10 years, Aldarzaya Sainbold recalls only one truly "complete" Tsagaan Sar — the year her parents visited.
The mother of five, who lives in Sydney, says that in her native Mongolia, the Lunar New Year period is not only a time for welcoming spring, but also honouring elders.
Aldarzaya Sainbold’s family during Tsagaan Sar celebrations in Australia in 2018. Credit: Aldarzaya Sainbold
"In 2018, on the morning of Tsagaan Sar, my parents arrived in Sydney. As soon as they stepped into our home, it truly felt like the holiday had begun.
“We greeted each other in the traditional way, called zolgokh, ate buuz (steamed Mongolian dumplings), and celebrated with friends. Of course, in keeping with tradition, we gave every guest a small gift.
“That was the most meaningful Tsagaan Sar I’ve ever had here."
A heartwarming first meeting between grandmother and granddaughter. Credit: Aldarzaya Sainbold
A different way to welcome spring
While other cultures kicked off their in late January, Mongolians will do so on 1 March, in accordance with their traditional lunar calendar, "Tugs Buyant".
As a nomadic people deeply connected to nature, Mongolians have long used the movement of the moon to determine the changing of the seasons. This system often sets the celebration apart from those of other Asian cultures.
"Mongolians call this holiday Tsagaan Sar (White Moon) because the colour white symbolises happiness. It marks the transition to a new year and the successful endurance of the harsh winter," Mongolia-based astrologist Ochirbar Ch explains.
"Additionally, according to tradition, when the New Year begins Mongolians believe they gain another year in age."
This year, Tsagaan Sar falls a month later than other Lunar New Year celebrations. In Mongolia’s harsh climate, where temperatures drop to -20°C during the day and -40°C at night, the arrival of spring is a highly anticipated event.
Keeping Mongolian traditions alive in Australia
Along with spending time with family, Sainbold says food is another vital component of Tsagaan Sar.
While traditional dishes like ul boov (shoe sole cake), uuts (whole sheep’s back) and airag (fermented mare’s milk) are difficult to find in Australia, community members adapt by finding local substitutes or making them at home.
Sainbold explains how she rises early to make ul boov after sending her children to school and seeing her husband off to work.
Aldarzaya Sainbold with some of the baked treats she makes for Lunar New Year. Credit: Aldarzaya Sainbold
"It takes 30 minutes to knead the dough for just one piece and almost five hours to make 10," she explains.
In Mongolian culture, ul boov is not just a dessert; it holds deep symbolic meaning. Families with younger members serve three layers using nine ul boov, while those with elders prepare up to nine layers using 81.
The layers must be in an odd number, symbolising the alternating nature of happiness and suffering. It starts and ends with happiness, representing the hope that joy will ultimately prevail over hardship.
Elders with special festive cakes called ul boov. The number of layers increases depending on the age of the recipients. Credit: Bolormaa Bat
They are also a key offering at the largest Mongolian Tsagaan Sar celebration in Australia, to be held in Silverwater Park, Sydney on Sunday, 2 March. The event is free and open to everyone. For those in Melbourne, festivities will take place on 9 March at Beaconsfield Parade in St Kilda.
According to the 2021 Census, more than 5,000 people living in Australia were born in Mongolia.
But Mongolia's ambassador to Australia, Davaasuren Damdinsuren, told SBS last year: "This figure has since more than doubled — with approximately 22,000 Mongolians residing in Australia, 60 per cent of those in New South Wales."
Mongolians in Sydney celebrating another national holiday, Naadam. Credit: Subeedei
A taste of home
Another popular item at this time of year is airag (fermented mare’s milk), a beverage that is also a symbol of identity and heritage.
For the past five years, Enkhtuya Gonchigdorj, a Mongolian woman living in Sydney, has made her own airag.
"I missed the taste of home and wondered if we could make it here," she explains.
A Mongolian family's festive table in Australia. Credit: Enkhtuya Gonchigdorj
When people tell me it tastes like home, that's the greatest compliment.Enkhtuya Gonchigdorj
Airag is mostly consumed in summer during the horse-milking season, but Mongolians freeze it for Tsagaan Sar.
During fermentation, lactobacilli bacteria acidify the milk and it becomes mildly alcoholic (two to three per cent), naturally carbonated and slightly sour.
Enkhtuya Gonchigdorj's family at their festive table, with all the traditional foods prepared in Australia. Credit: Enkhtuya Gonchigdorj
The challenges of preserving traditions
No Tsagaan Sar feast in Mongolia is complete without uuts — the whole back of a sheep, which is traditionally boiled for two to three hours before the day in a big pot full of water salt and left outside for freezing.
In Mongolia, fat-tailed sheep breeds are highly valued for their rich, high-quality fat, which is believed to have significant health benefits.
Mongolian children are even encouraged to chew on the tail fat as a source of nutrition.
But for Khatanbaatar Byambasan, a Mongolian butcher who has been running a meat business in Sydney for a decade, Australian sheep don't compare.
On the first day of spring, a grandson warmly greets his grandfather with the traditional zolgokh in Mongolia. Credit: Purevbat Uranbileg
According to Byambasan, Australia’s hot summer also makes cooking whole large cuts impractical.
"Instead, many Mongolians turn to lamb breast or beef brisket as substitutes. These alternatives not only maintain the tradition of serving meat on the festive table but are also flavourful and readily available in local butcher stores," he said.
Mongolia, a country with 57 million livestock and only 3.5 million people, has a strong meat culture and respect for different cuts.
During the holidays, however, he says he deeply misses uuts, whose presence can be found in many traditional dishes, not to mention his father, siblings and friends back home.
Honouring elders
Beyond the food and festivities, Tsagaan Sar is a time for honouring elders.
In Mongolian culture, grandparents traditionally live with their children until their deaths, passing down knowledge and wisdom. As children grow, they take care of their ageing parents, maintaining a deep sense of family responsibility.
This tradition is why Sainbold has made a life-changing decision — after a decade in Australia, where her five children have grown up immersed in the local culture, her family has decided to return to Mongolia to care for her parents.
"For me, it’s not just about visiting for Tsagaan Sar," she says.
"It’s about honouring the people who raised me. My parents gave me everything, and now it’s my turn to be there for them in their old age."
