How Russia celebrated Buddhist New Year (PHOTOS)

This is the day of the first spring new moon and the farewell to winter holiday, the ‘White Month’. Buryats call it ‘Sagaalgan’, the Tuvinians – ‘Shagaa’, the Kalmyks – ‘Tsagan-Sar’ and the Altaians – ‘Chagaa Bayram’. 

In 2025, the ‘White Month’ holiday fell on March 1 for the Buryats, Tuvinians and Kalmyks and was celebrated on February 8 in Altai. The symbol of the year 2025 became the ‘Green Wooden Snake’.

The main treats on this day are always white – for example, marshmallows, milk, ‘buuzy’ (Buryat steamed dumplings) and ‘boovy’ (doughnuts). It is also customary to give each other silk 'khadak' scarves. 

It is one of the main holidays of the Buddhist peoples of Russia and it is celebrated not only in the family circle, but also by holding solemn services in datsans and then organizing city festivals for all residents. 

In 2024, we visited the Sagaalgan Festival in Irkutsk – check out how much fun it was there!