Spring Festival
01 · Historical Records
From the Yuan dynasty onward, the Mongols began to use the calendar system of the Central Plains, and as a result the Mongolian White Month came to coincide with the timing of the Han Chinese Spring Festival.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the Mongolian language, "chagan" carries the meanings of white and beginning, so "Chagan Sar" means "White New Year." The Mongols regard white as the color of purity and auspiciousness, and so they call this festival the "White Festival." The Gorlos is an ancient Mongol tribe; after migrating to the confluence of the Nen River and the Songhua River during the Jiaqing reign of the Ming dynasty, they gradually formed the traditional custom of taking the lunar New Year as "Chagan Sar," which the Mongolian compatriots of Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, Jilin Province, carry on to this day. The content of Chagan Sar includes "celebrating the small year," "spending New Year's Eve," "welcoming the first day," "making merry on the fifteenth," and "ending on the second day of the second month," observances similar to the Han Chinese Spring Festival customs, while also preserving Mongolian traditional practices such as the shamanic "fire sacrifice" and eating "hand-grasped mutton" on New Year's Eve, reflecting the distinctive character of traditional Mongolian festival customs.
The calendar of the White Month
The White New Year runs from the little new year’s eve through the Lantern Festival to the second day of the second month.
Shamanic fire rite
A shaman or an elder officiates at the fire on new year’s eve, offering sacrifices and keeping the flame alive into the new year.
Boiled lamb and milk tea
Lamb is boiled whole and carved for guests, the Mongolian table being shared with fried rice, milk tea and dairy dishes.
New year greetings
Young people call on households one by one, offering good wishes; elders answer with dairy foods or red envelopes.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The distribution of Chagan Sar coincides with the migration route of the Gorlos tribe. After moving into the area of the confluence of the Nen and Songhua rivers during the Jiaqing reign, the dual livelihood of grassland pastoralism and farming produced a combination of festival customs found nowhere else: year-end customs based on dairy foods and horses stood side by side with Han Chinese New Year observances within the same river bend. Within Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, the Mongolian settlements of the county town and the townships still keep this custom; the venues for weddings, the fire sacrifice, and the nadam are shared with the ritual spaces of Chagan Sar, with the fire sacrifice often set in the courtyard or before the ovoo. Participants wear Mongolian robes, drink milk tea, and eat hand-grasped mutton, and after the sacrifice they offer toasts to their elders. Local distinctiveness here is also reflected in the choice of colors. The Mongols take white as the color of auspiciousness and purity, so in the days before the festival designated personnel clean the Mongolian yurts and courtyards, lay out new felt, and prepare cheese and dairy foods, an observance known as welcoming the white New Year. During the first month, young people paying New Year visits must speak auspicious words, and the elders reply with dairy foods and hada scarves. The old fishing and hunting customs along the Songhua River intermingle here with the old grassland customs, and winter fishing and ice activities are joined to the hour of the fire sacrifice, making the schedule of Chagan Sar longer than that of the Han Spring Festival, extending from beginning to end to the second day of the second month, when the dragon raises its head.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Spring Festival · Spring Festival · Spring Festival · Spring Festival · Spring Festival.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Chagan Sar has important research value in ethnology, folklore studies, and history, and is also of great significance for strengthening ethnic unity and promoting cultural exchange among all ethnic groups.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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