Picture of the week

We recently celebrated the Mongolian Lunar New Year. This is an interesting time of the year to be in Mongolia to observe Mongolian traditions. In this week's picture two Mongolian men dressed in tradition dels are exchanging small bottles called hoorog. Exchanging bottles, also involves exchanging pleasantries. The men ask each other questions such as, "Are you celebrating [the lunar new year] well?" and "Are you spending the spring well."

No matter what the temperature outside, Mongolians consider their lunar new year to be the beginning of spring. Since the lunar new year can occur as early as late January, the Mongolia "spring" can be a quite cold time of year. The high yesterday, for example, barely climbed above freezing.