Naadam Festival - National Public Holiday

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 as
an annual sacrificial ritual honouring various
mountain gods and to celebrate a community endeavour. Now it
formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared
itself a free country. The 2006 National Naadam was introduced
as the as the 85th Anniversary of the revolution and the 800th
celebration of Mongolian Statehood.

At first
being a ritualized archery competition, accompanied by other the other
main traditional sports wrestling and horse racing, being held near
an ovoo, during communism it is reshaped into a `combination…of sports day
and prizegiving´ (Humphrey 1983: 380).
Humphrey refers also to the study of Kabzinska-Stawarz on `manly games´
among Khalkha Mongolians. This study supports the idea that the `manly
games´ and with that the ovoo rituals where to support the tie
between man and there land. In some behaviour of the wrestlers this
is shown. The earth is touched before and after a fight, and even rubbed
to gain strength from it. The winner throws milk foods towards the spectators,
the ovoo, the mountains and the sky after he first has touched
it with his forehead. In this with way he share the victory with them,
and it is said it would give the whole population strength (Humphrey
& Onon 1996: 151). According  Kabzinska-Stawarz games always
had a purpose and where never just leisure. Even a kid’s game with the
ankle-bones of an animal, was symbolizing the milking of different animals
and thus increasing the amount of dairy products and wealth.