A khadag is the long silk cloth held during Tsagaan Sar greeting ceremonies.
The khadag, also spelled khata or khatag in some transliterations, is a ceremonial scarf used across Mongolian and wider Tibetan Buddhist cultures. It is commonly made of silk or another fine textile and is often blue, although other colors can carry particular ritual meanings. During Tsagaan Sar, family members hold or present the cloth while performing zolgokh, the formal greeting in which younger people support an elder by grasping the elder’s elbows.
The cloth expresses respect, goodwill, and auspicious intentions. Its use belongs to the ceremonial exchange surrounding the greeting, not to the traditional clothing itself. A deel is a Mongolian garment, a ger is a dwelling, and a morin khuur is the horse-head fiddle; all are closely associated with Mongolian culture but answer different questions.
Tsagaan Sar means “White Month” or “White Moon” and begins the Mongolian lunar year. Greeting elders, sharing festive foods such as buuz, and exchanging gifts are central parts of the holiday.