Celebration of the coming spring

Nauryz is one of the oldest holidays on Earth. This holiday of spring and the renewed life of the Earth has been celebrated for over five thousand years by many cultures of the Middle and Central Asia and, according to some sources, by eastern Slavs as well. Historical records referring to this holiday can be found in ancient and middle age documents. In the oriental chronology, it corresponds to Navruz, the Iranian New Year. Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Uighurs passed the Nauryz traditions from generation to generation.

This holiday has been celebrated on 22 March, the day of the spring equinox. That's why the Kazakhs call the month of March Nauryz. It was celebrated as the day of the renewed life which comes with the spring. It was the day when the first spring thunder strikes, buds are swelling on the trees and vegetation grows wildly.

A great deal of food was prepared during these days. It symbolized prosperity and wealth in the coming year. At noon, a bull was killed and a special dish was cooked from the meat. It was called "bell-koterer" (posture straightening) because the bull was considered to be one of the strongest animals and meals cooked from its meat would give people strength and stamina. Each family would lay a dastarkhan (festive table). People would sit down at the table at noon. Mullah would read prayers dedicated to ancestors before and after the meal. At the end of the meal, the oldest men among them would give a blessing so that prosperity would never leave the family.

Exercise 6. Make a plan to the text.

Exercise 7. Write an essay. Holidays honor people or events. If you could create a new holiday, what person or event would it honor and how would you want people to celebrate it? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. ( use 100 words).

Check yourself

1. Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Uighurs celebrated Nauryz________ from generation to generation.

a) insight

b) etiquette

c) traditions

d) eve

2. I’m not vegetarian, but my wife_______

a) was

b) is

c) has

d) will

3. They said I would love the film, but I don’t think I __________

a) will

b) am

c) was

d) would

4. A set of rites and rituals.

a) equinox

b) tradition

c) etiquette

d) deadline

Glossary

English	Kazakh	Russian
generation [ˌʤenə'reɪʃ(ə)n]	ұрпақ	поколение
equinox ['iːkwɪnɔks]	теңелу	равноденствие
renew [rɪ'njuː]	жаңару	обновлять
hug [hʌg]	құшаққа алу	обнимать
determination [dɪˌtɜːmɪ'neɪʃ(ə)n]	жігерлік	решительность
debt [det]	қарыз	долг
yield [jiːld]	түсім, өнім, астық	урожай
spirit ['spɪrɪt]	жын, пері	дух
eve [iːv]	қарсаңында	накануне
pelvic bone ['pelvɪk bəun]	жамбас сүйек	тазовая кость

LIW 40

Read and translate the text ‘Kazakh folk games’ (p. 172-173).

LIW 41

Some people believe that public celebrations like national days and festivals are waste of time. Support your arguments with examples from the text ‘Kazakh folk games’.