On Nauryz, the whole country comes alive. Streets and parks fill with colourful yurts — the traditional round felt tents of the Kazakh nomads — where families serve guests a special dish called nauryz kozhe, made from seven ingredients including millet, meat, curds and water. The number seven is lucky in Kazakh tradition.
Music fills the air during Nauryz — dombra players perform, singers compete in aitys (poetry duels where two singers improvise verses at each other), and crowds gather to watch kokpar riders gallop across the field. It is a day for everyone to come together and celebrate.
Nauryz is also a time for kindness. People visit elderly relatives, forgive old arguments, clean their homes to welcome the new year, and make sure everyone in the community has enough food. The spirit of the festival is about renewal — letting go of the old year and welcoming the new with an open heart.
Because 21 March is the spring equinox — the moment when day and night are perfectly balanced — Nauryz has been celebrated for thousands of years across Central Asia, Persia, and beyond. In Kazakhstan it is a public holiday, and festivities often last for several days.