Zul is an important Kalmyk holiday, celebrating both the new year according to their lunar calendar and the Parinirvana of the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, Lama Tsongkapa. Celebrated on the 25th day of the tenth lunar month, it involves cleaning and a special meal of biscuits (bortsoki) and tea, but meat is often abstained from. A key ritual is lighting candles with wicks representing the ages of family members to mark a communal new year.