State holidays and national holidays. Meals of the people living in kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has many state and national holidays. The first of them is New Year. New Year’s Day is the start of a new year. We celebrate it on the first day of January, but the celebration actually begins on December 31, New Year’s Eve, the night before New Year’s Day. People congratulate each other, hug, sing and stay up all night. It is the most wonderful time of the year, especially for children.

The 8th of March, International Women’s Day are actively celebrated in Kazakhstan every year. Kazakhstan people's culture to respect women - mothers, wives, daughters and sisters make the importance of this holiday even stronger. 8th March starts off the spring in Kazakhstan having people warmed up for the upcoming Spring Holiday of Nauryz on the 22nd of March.

Kazakhstan celebrates Nauryz Meyramy or Kazak New Year during the vernal equinox. Nauryz is one of the important holidays in Kazakhstan. Although the holiday is non-religious in nature, it was tied up to a number of legends such as the awakening of nature and the triumph of good over evil. During Nauryz, people would be very kind and hospitable, forgetting about previous quarrels, making friends, and wishing each other happiness. Hostesses would prepare Nauryz kozhe (dish made of seven traditional ingredients) and invite neighbours to taste it.

Kazakhstan also celebrates the end of World War II on May 9. This day is known as Victory Day over Nazi Germany. It is considered to be a national holiday since 1945 until today.

One of the major state holidays is Independence Day. On December 16, 1991 Kazakhstan adopted the Constitutional Law about the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2011 Kazakhstan will celebrate the 20^th anniversary of its independence. Kazakhstan is a very young independent state but during this short period, big changes have happened in the country. Our country has an international confession and occupies a worthy place in the world economy.

Each holiday is certainly connected with meals. Meals in Kazakh culture is a very big part of their heritage. If you visit a Kazakh family you can be sure of two things: there will be more than enough food to eat, and there will be meat, possibly of different types. Traditional Kazakh dishes are beshbarmak ("five fingers" because of the manner in which it is eaten), manty (a large dough pocket filled with meat, onion, and sometimes pumpkin), baursaks (fried dough balls), raisins, irimshik (dried cheese balls), kurt (dried cheese and whey), kumys (fermented mare's milk), shubat (fermented camel's milk) or airan (fermented cow's milk), kasy (horse sausage)., Kazakhs often drink tea with their daily meals. Tea is an important part of life in Kazakhstan. Every guest is always offered tea.