Fun and festivities in Kazakhstan - celebrations, festivals and cultural events

Both famous, widely adopted holidays and special national celebrations are popular in Kazakhstan. However, even the holidays, which many of us have known since childhood, are celebrated in a peculiar way in Kazakhstan. For example, Kazakh people celebrate New Year twice. The country celebrates the international New Year at night from December 31st to January 1st. March 21-23 is the date for the second New Year. Local people celebrate it after the spring equinox. Quite an interesting fact – both the dates are national celebrations.

The spring equinox day is always widely celebrated across the country. Nowruz is the official name of the holiday. The word “Nowruz” literally means “New Day”. Frankly speaking, Nowruz is the largest holiday in Kazakhstan. On the day when nature is reborn, local people organize sports competitions. This is a centuries-old tradition. Alaman Baigue horse racing, Kyz Kuu “girl chasing” tradition, Kazaksha Kurez wresting, and Kokpar polo-type game with a goat are just some of the popular sports. Music concerts, all kinds of performances and shows, a festival of dramatic art, exhibitions, and attractive trade fairs have become an essential part of the celebration.

There are more holidays that are popular in Kazakhstan. For example, March 8 is the International Woman’s Day. This is the official day off. Initially, the holiday appeared as the day of solidarity of all women fighting for their rights and emancipation. However, nowadays when women are not as much discriminated on the basis of the gender as in the past, March 8 has become the holiday of the fair sex. May 7 is the Defender of the Fatherland Day, so everyone congratulates men on this day. May 9 is the Victory Day. The capital city, Nur-Sultan, celebrates its birthday on July 6. In Kazakhstan, Christmas is usually celebrated in accordance with the Orthodox Christian calendar only – on January 7. Catholic Christmas on December 25 is not a holiday and is a usual workday. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Qurban Bairam is an important holiday for all Muslims. It is celebrated once the hajj is over. The Muslim calendar is different from the usual Gregorian calendar, so the date of Qurban Bairam is different every year. On this day, it is important to go to mosque, refrain from vile thoughts and actions, and do sacrificing. Lamb is the most traditional sacrificing; cows and camels are much less typical choices. It is prohibited to sell the meat of sacrificed animals and to give money to the butcher – butcher gets meat as well. Local people traditionally give meat to friends, relatives, and the poor. This is the time when people visit each other’s houses and feast.

Culinary traditions and authentic cooking methods are important for Kazakh people. That is why there is a festival dedicated to traditional cooking. Toikazan is an annual event that takes place in autumn. During this event, local chefs compete with each other, trying to offer the most delicious traditional Kazakh food. The festival attracts thousands of guests who come to cheer up their favorite contestants, have fun, and, of course, eat delicious food. Indeed, the choice of food is tremendous and always includes such iconic local dishes as Beshbarmak, Baursak, and Kuurdak.

The Voices of Asia Festival is one more interesting event that always takes place in Medeu. Orchestras and performers from not only Kazakhstan but also CIS countries and Asia participate in this event. Medeu is a popular alpine sports complex on the outskirts of Almaty. This is also the highest Olympic-sized skating rink in the world. It is located at a height of 1,700 meters above sea level. For the event, the large skating rink turns into a large concert area. The event is very interesting to attend at least once.

Starting from 2008, the small village of Kutiha has been hosting a very interesting art festival called Golden Turgusun. Famous Kazakh poet Alexander Egorov, the founder of the festival, was born in this village. This explains such an unusual location of the festival. Despite not a central location, the festival has quickly become popular. Golden Turgusun brings together poets, writers, songwriters, painters, photographers, craftsmen, and artisans specializing in folk styles. Among patrons of the festival, there are Kazakhstan’s famous museums and authorities.