First there was Women's day - all the guys brought roses, wine, and cake for the women. They stood up the front of the class, looking very spiffy as usual in their suits and ties (being govt ministry workers, off to the office in the afternoon) and sang a ballad extolling the virtues of Mongolian women. Then there was men's day. The women brought Vodka, whiskey and customised mugs with each guy's photo printed on them (downloaded from their facebook profiles) and 
sang numerous 
songs extollng the strength and 
endurance of Mongolian men. On both occasions there was much toasting, and outside the streets were full of people running round clutching garishly wrapped bouquets, boxed cakes and bottles of alcohol.
And NOW its Childrens Day which is a national holiday. Even after what had gone before I wasn't prepared for this. Needless to say, everyone's all dressed up and out and about bearing the same aforementioned gifts. But it's like childworship day. Little girls of every shape and size are wreathed in acres of satin, taffeta, chiffon, netting and lace - shocking pink and ice white being the favoured colours. The little boys are in minuature suits, black, grey, pin striped, with white shirts and coloured ties. They fly kites and balloons, or reel under huge soft toys.
The vast Sukhbaatar Square, as always, is the focal point. The protest gers are gone and now it's lined with circus tents. There's a really big one on the south side, old faded, like something out of a Russian fairytale. The kids are having their photos taken, and 'driving' the remote controlled plastic cars that are now, with winter over, a daily feature of the square. As they get whizzed around, the really little ones especially, look utterly confused and lobotomised. Sometimes, like this morning, dad doesn't pay attention and they crash into something. At 10 am when i was going for one of my rare runs, the square was already buzzing. There was one tragic sight, of a small reindeer cowering in the corner of a tent, near an equally lost and confused camel, as people obliviously qued for tickets to ride.
