Nowruz Celebration in Turkic World

Nowruz celebration in Turkic world.
The Turks are the generalized name of the ethno-linguistic group of the Turkic
peoples. Geographically, the Turks are scattered over a vast territory, which occupies
about a quarter of the whole Eurasia. The homeland of the Turks is Central Asia, and the
first mentioned ethnonym "Turk" dates back to the 6th century AD and it is connected
with the name of Kyok Turk, who created the Turkic Khanate under the leadership of the
Ashin clan. Although the Turks are not historically a single ethnos, they include not only
relatives but also assimilated peoples of Eurasia, nevertheless the Turkic peoples are a
single ethno-cultural entity. According to anthropological signs, it is possible to single
out the Turks, both of the Europeanoid race and of the Mongoloid race, but most often
there is a transitional type related to the Turanian race. The historical homeland of the
Turks is Central Asia. For a long time, the Turkic and Mongolian tribes lived side by side
and often knew the language of their neighbors. At the beginning of our era, the Turks
assimilated the Indo-Europeans in Central Asia. In the Middle Ages, the process of
migration of the Turks to the west began. Globalization and the intensification of the
process of integration with other peoples led to a mass departure of Turks beyond their
historical range. In world history, the Turks are known primarily as unsurpassed
warriors, the founders of states and empires, skillful cattle breeders.
The modern Turkic world is striking in its extent in space, unity, preserved in spite of
all the historical cataclysms that the Turks had to endure in time, variety of political
aspirations and cultural originality. Despite the peculiarity of each people, there are a lot
of similarities between all Turkic-speaking countries. This manifests itself in the
commonality of traditions, values, religion, linguistic and ethnic factors. Novruz holiday
is one of those events that unites all Turkic-speaking peoples. During the holidays in the
cities of the countries that celebrate this holiday, various events are organized, such as
concerts in parks, various trade fairs, national equestrian competitions dedicated to this
ancient holiday and every Turkic people demonstrates their traditions and cuisine, thus
strengthening the relations between peoples.
The holiday of Novruz is one of the oldest on Earth. Its roots go back to the pre-
literary era. In 2009, UNESCO even included it in the list of the intangible cultural
heritage of mankind. Since then, the International Day of Novruz officially is on March
21, but in a number of countries it has been marked for much longer. In different
countries, the festival has its own characteristics. For example, in Turkmenistan, the New
Year holiday is celebrated twice a year. One is celebrated according to the Gregorian
calendar, and the other as a sign of the revival of the ancient customs and traditions of the
Turkmen people. In Uzbekistan, the New Year is celebrated as a day of freedom and
independence. In Azerbaijan, people celebrate from March 20 to 23.
On holidays, various kinds of music and sports are held, for example in Turkmenistan
games like munjuk atdy, jumps, wrestling, high jumping to get a hanging handkerchief,
cock fights, chess and collective visits for New Year's greetings. Furthermore, Azerbaijan
hosts musical mejlises, ashugs and folk singers "khanende" sing songs, Novruz playful
games are played - rope walkers demonstrate their art, pahlevany (folk wrestlers)
compete in power, plays are played in the squares. On the last Tuesday before Novruz,
children knock on the doors of neighboring houses, put caps or small bags at the doorstep
and hide. The owners of these houses must return the hats with festive treats.
In Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, the administrator of the celebrations, chosen

by the whole community, with the company of young fellows bypasses all the yards in
the village. They glorify the owners for their warienss and generosity, after which they
receive from them products for a common meal, embroidered items for rewarding
participants in the race, dancers and masters of throat singing uzlau. Rituals performed
in Novruz are designed to appease the natural forces and spirits of ancestors to achieve
prosperity in the coming year.
Another universal tradition of Novruz is the preparation of a festive table, on which

are a number of symbolic objects. Depending on the region, the festive tables differ, but
there are also common features: water, candles, a dish with green sprouts (or sabzy
greens), a traditional dish made up of sprouted wheat, mirrors, eggs and various fruits.
These objects symbolize purity, light, abundance, happiness and fertility in the New
Year. Each family necessarily cooks festive food from cereals with sweets. In
Azerbaijan, for the festive table, prepare a "khoncho" in which around the "seed" is
placed various national sweets of shakarbura, baklava, gogal.
In Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, there is a tradition to fumigate

dwellings on the night before the holiday with smoking branches of juniper, in order to
drive out evil spirits. On the festive table they place round loafs of wheat, barley, millet,
corn, beans, peas, lentils, rice, sesame and beans. In Novruz they prepare dishes from
seed, mostly vegetable, products; the most famous festive dish is sumalak - a dish of
sprouted wheat sprouts. In Kazakhstan, the festive dish is "Novruz koje."
Despite the fact that this is a holiday of spring, not connected with Islam and rooted in
pagan times, during the Soviet era it was banned and for a long time it was not officially
celebrated, and even persecuted for it, but people did not want to forget about this
holiday, therefore everyone was celebrating whenever possible, everyone in their house.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it gained the status of a state holiday in
all the former republics of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Nowruz Celebration in Turkic World

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Nowruz celebration in Turkic world.

In Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, the administrator of the celebrations, chosen

Another universal tradition of Novruz is the preparation of a festive table, on which

In Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, there is a tradition to fumigate

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