nPostednon July 11, 2014
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nThisnis the festival of the Three Games of Men.
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nWhatnare the three games, you may ask? n
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| Wrestling |
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| Horse racing |
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| And archery |
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nThesenthree sports are practiced all over Mongolia during midsummer. In thencapital, Ulaanbaatar, the largest Naadam Festival of all is heldnduring Mongolia’s National Day (today!) through the thirteenth.n(Today Mongolia celebrates its 1921 declaration of independence fromnChina.)
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nNoticenthat the holiday is called (in the Mongolian language) the sports ofnmen. These days, however, women have started participating innthe archery, and girls have started participating in the horse-racingngames. However, females still do not participate in the Mongoliannwrestling.
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Asidenfrom the sporting events, Naadam has opening ceremonies with a paradenwith dancers, horse riders, musicians, soldiers, monks, and athletes,nplus of course food, music, crafts, and some pretty greatnpeople-watching. There are also tournaments of a popular game thatnuses sheep anklebones as game pieces.
Asidenfrom the sporting events, Naadam has opening ceremonies with a paradenwith dancers, horse riders, musicians, soldiers, monks, and athletes,nplus of course food, music, crafts, and some pretty greatnpeople-watching. There are also tournaments of a popular game thatnuses sheep anklebones as game pieces.n
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Archeryn– In Mongolian archery, there isn’t one target. Instead, there arenhundreds of surs, short wooden tubes with little balls or ribbons inside, stacked to make a short wall. Teams of tennmen and women, each with four arrows, try to hit 33 sursnso that tubes are knocked out of the wall, as you see here. Knocking the ball or ribbon outnof the tube earns more points.
Archeryn– In Mongolian archery, there isn’t one target. Instead, there arenhundreds of surs, short wooden tubes with little balls or ribbons inside, stacked to make a short wall. Teams of tennmen and women, each with four arrows, try to hit 33 sursnso that tubes are knocked out of the wall, as you see here. Knocking the ball or ribbon outnof the tube earns more points.n
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HorsenRacing – Instead ofnshort races, Mongolian horse racing are long cross-country events.nHorses must travel between 15 and 30 kilometers (9 to 18 miles),ndepending on the age of the horse. They also tend to be massivenevents. Instead of 20 horses racing against each other, there mightnbe 1,000 horses in a race! And the jockeys are little boys and girlsnages 5 to 13!
HorsenRacing – Instead ofnshort races, Mongolian horse racing are long cross-country events.nHorses must travel between 15 and 30 kilometers (9 to 18 miles),ndepending on the age of the horse. They also tend to be massivenevents. Instead of 20 horses racing against each other, there mightnbe 1,000 horses in a race! And the jockeys are little boys and girlsnages 5 to 13!n
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Wrestlingn– Either 512 or 1024 wrestlers compete in nine or ten untimednrounds. A wrestler loses if any part of his body (and it is men only,nas I mentioned earlier), other than the feet and hands, touches thenground. Winners are called lions, and runner-ups are callednelephants. A two-time winner is called a giant!
Wrestlingn– Either 512 or 1024 wrestlers compete in nine or ten untimednrounds. A wrestler loses if any part of his body (and it is men only,nas I mentioned earlier), other than the feet and hands, touches thenground. Winners are called lions, and runner-ups are callednelephants. A two-time winner is called a giant!n
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nAlsonon this date:
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Author E. B. White’s birthday
Author E. B. White’s birthday n
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ThenDay of Five Billion
ThenDay of Five Billionn
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nAnniversarynof the discovery of a terracotta army
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nGuldensporenslagn(Flemish National Day)
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nJulyn holidays
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nJulyn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in July
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nAugustn holidays
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nAugustn birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in August
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