Lama Batyr says that the ritual of gal tyalgn (fire offering) is performed in spring during the month of the mouse, according to the lunar calendar. During this time, the spirits of ancestors wait for food offerings from the living. During this somber month the Kalmyks do not have weddings or other public celebrations. Representatives of various clans gather together to make a fire offering. Today sacrificial animals are substituted by statues made from dough as well as liquid butter.Other Buddhist holidays celebrated at the Orgakin Temple are as follows: Ur Sar (performed in May or June) is a celebration of the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha Shakyamuni.Circumvention of Maitreya (in Kalmyk ‘Myadrin Ergts’) is a holiday dedicated to Maitreya, Buddha of the Future. On this day the statue of a green horse and that of Maitreya are taken out of the temple and the pious go around the temple carrying these statues. Batyr says that in Kalmykia this holiday has been revived with the help of the Head Lama of Buryatia, Ayusheev.Tsagan Sar is a holiday to celebrate Buddha showing his miracles.Zul is connected with the lama Tsongkapa, founder of the Gelug school of Buddhism. On this day 1,000 candles are lit and put outside symbolizing the 1,000 Buddhas that would have ever come to earth.