Ah, Lunar New Year.

     Like many Asian countries, Mongolians celebrate the Lunar New Year or we call it Tsagaan Sar. 

    We put an elaborate centerpiece, aka tavag, which consists of long-shaped fried dough with engraving. The number of layers depends on the household head or the elder. For example: If the head of the household is in their 30s, the layer would be three. If the person is in their 40s, the number of layers would be five. If the person is elderly, then the number would be nine. The centerpiece layer number cannot end in an even number. That is also reflected in the gifts that the guests receive, hence the guests would receive usually 3 pieces of things. On top, we put candies, aaruul (my favorite snack made from milk), and anything (people usually put white edible things). 

    Another thing we put on the table is an almost whole sheep, obviously cooking either steam or smoking. The "almost whole sheep" means that the front portion of the carcass is cut and the middle and the bottom portions of the carcass are used. We call this uuts. Every guest that comes through the door will have to eat a piece of meat from the uuts. It is quite delicious. 

    Besides these two main things, there will be different types of salads, jams (my late grandmother used to put different types of jams for her grandkids), and other snacks. 

    As the main dish, we steam buuz. All households will make their own, except nowadays you can buy frozen from any shop. So, the taste of buuz can be a hit or miss.

    It has been many years, maybe more than a decade, since my family celebrated Tsagaan Sar. My father doesn't like the whole that goes in preparation for the celebration. It tires the members of the family who take care of the kitchen duties. Over the years, in my opinion, the true meaning of this celebration has been lost. Instead of catching up with everybody, it became a visual showcase of wealth, but not all families are like that.

    This weekend, We Mongolians are celebrating our Tsagaan Sar. So, this year's plan was for my parents to travel to China (obviously, work is involved) and my siblings to visit some relatives as part of the customs and visit museums, not to mention watch movies at home and the theatre. I had my work, but we (my cousins and their girlfriends) gathered and made buuz. It was lovely. 

PS: Tried to find a photo or two to show how the table is set, but to no avail.