Culture, Traditions, and Holidays

I�ll begin this section with holidays. And specifically with holidays which have been celebrated for many years. The biggest event in the lives of the Kazakh people was the birth of a son, which frequently went beyond only a single family�s pleasure. There was a celebration devoted to the birth of the baby (shildekana). This celebration involved laying  the child in a cradle (besyk toi), and was marked on the fortieth day of the child�s life (kyrkynan shygaru). This ceremony was also connected to the Muslim tradition of circumcising of the boys between the ages of  three and ten (sundet toi). Each of these holidays has a history to it. For example, carrying out shildekana was connected with a period of time during the first three nights when �evil spirits� could steal the newborn, and exchange it for an ugly little creature, or �changeling.� Noisy fun had by the young people was intended to frighten them off!

Another public holiday connected to the celebration of Spring, which is particularly popular with the people of a nomadic heritage, is the national day commemorating the annual trek of the entire community from wintering grounds to their summer encampments in the early spring, and in the late autumn the return to their former wintering grounds. This procession was headed by the most beautiful girl to whom the banner was handed over. She was followed by the others, and a train of pack animals with all of their property and �yurts.� Upon setting up their new camp, they held a feast until late into the night, playing one game after another.As in all Islamic countries, it is accepted to mark two annual religious holidays. Razgovenija, or the termination of the post, Uraza Ajt, and in 70 days, sacrifices known as Kurban Ajt. It was customary to give money and other gifts such as "sadaka" to mosques, sacred persons and sacred places. And on the days of the Kurban Ajt, the best cattle were brought for sacrifice. With Kazakhs, as opposed to other peoples in the region, these ceremonies prevailed as compared with traditional religion.

New Year�s (Nauryz) is one of the largest holidays of the peoples of Central Asia and  Kazakhstan, which is celebrated on the day of the Spring Equinox on March 22nd. You can see how we celebrate Nauryz in Almaty by looking in the section on holidays.By virtue of the nomadic way of life of Kazakhs, the largest number of competitions involved horses, and every possible game was played on horseback. Reverence for the horse and a love of horse-games became a tradition that is still with us today. See more about this in section  about Sports and Games.