Naadam Naadam National Underwater and Marine Agency Category="Buddhism"Category="Holidays"Category="Mongolia"Category="Multi-sport events"Category="Tuva"Naadam (Наадам) is the national festival of Mongolia held from July 11th to 13th. The festival sometimes is called "Eriin Gurvan Naadam," meaning "men's three variety of games." The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery, and are the only ones that are held throughout the country. However, now women also participate in two of the 'three manly games' viz. archery and horse-racing.

The main festival is held in the Mongolian capital Ulan Baatar. However, other cities and towns also have their own Nadaam's which are not as big as the Ulan Baatar Naadam.

It is the most widely watched festival in the country, and is believed to have existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Originally it was a religious festival but now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.

The festival is also celebrated in the Inner Mongolia region of China.

As Naadym, the festival is celebrated on 15 August, which is also the Tuvan Republic Day, on the fields of Tos-Bulak, with horse races and Khuresh competitions.

External links