Omul Festival, how to celebrate the most famous fish in Siberia

**Siberians **living on the shores of Lake Baikal always adored treating their guests with dishes made of an endemic **fish **that only lives in this lake. The **fish's **name is omul. **Siberians **not only love to eat it but, curiously enough, they even celebrate **festivals **in its name. The Omul Festival is a relatively young gastronomic feast, dedicated to this special fish,  even though **Siberians **never paid special attention to it in the past. However, nowadays it is forbidden to **fish **for **omul **without a special permit. People started to realize that they miss **omul **and all the delicious **dishes that could be cooked from it. That is the main reason why Siberians organize the yearly Omul Festival **and show how to celebrate the most famous fish in Siberia!

What is Siberian omul

**Omul **(Latin: Coregonus migratorius) is a kind of whitefish. It mainly lives in Baikal waters, but, in the past, the **fish inhabited other rivers **and **lakes **of the Urals. Scientists believe that omul first appeared in **Baikal during the Ice Age. The **native dwellers **of this **Siberian **territory soon found out that the **fish **meat is rich in vitamin B, zinc, and many minerals. **Locals **love salted fish or raw frozen fish meat, but the most popular **omul dish **is definitely the smoked fish. 

A legend connected to omul

Like most things in Siberia, there are certain **mysteries **and **local legends **surrounding this delicious fish. The Buryat people used to animate **rivers **and other **natural **things, so for them, Barguzin and Kultuk **rivers **were living “giants” that played, got married, and occasionally had fights. Thus, the **legend **has it that Kultuk and Barguzin **giants **had a toy – a **barrel **full of omul. Once, when they were playing, they both fell in love with another river. Sarma River was its name, and it wasn't in a hurry to tie the knot with either of the other giant rivers. She presented them with a challenge. She asked for the omul barrel. The two **giants **quarreled and fought over the **barrel, **and soon, it disappeared in the waters of Baikal. Since the **barrel **was not available, the Sarma **River **refused to marry either of the giants. But, **Lake Baikal **took the barrel and had been swarming with **fish **ever since. 

Join the festivities, celebrate the Omul Festival

Once a year, **Siberians **gather in Lystvyanka to celebrate the Omul Festival. It is a **gastronomic **day during which many **Siberian restaurants **compete in preparing the best omul dishes. You can not only **taste **them but attend **workshops **where you will learn how to cook omul! There are various **culinary contests **and, what is more important, the scientists take small **omul fish that they have been growing in their laboratories to the lake **to make **omul population **bigger! Anyone can attend the **Omul Festival **too and learn how to celebrate the most famous fish in Siberia!