Every Day Is Special: May 1 – Unity Day in Kazakhstan

May 1 – Unity Day in Kazakhstan

Posted on May 1, 2016

In many, many nations, May 1 is a holiday that focuses on springtime, or the country's workers, or both.

But in Kazakhstan, this holiday is not springtime's “May Day,” nor workers' “Labor Day,” but instead is called “Unity Day.” (And, of course, I mean the Kazakh and Russian versions of those names!)

Kazakhstan, which is located in the center of the Eurasian landmass, has people from many different ethnic groups and from many different nationalities.

Unity Day is a cool holiday because it brings everyone together in a sort of fun cultural exchange.

There are parades and processions in many cities. In Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, there are sorts of mini-museums installed in Central Park.

Each mini-museum represents one of the nationalities represented in Kazakhstan's population – with displays on traditional clothing, tableware, jewelry, and so forth. Best of all, each mini-museum has dishes to taste from that nation's cuisine.

The people of Kazakhstan include the Kazakhs and Russians, of course, but also Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Tatars, Uyghurs, Germans, Azerbaijani, Belarusians, and many more. (Some people estimate that there are 140 to 150 different ethnic groups in the nation – but I bet that only a few of them erect a mini-museum on Unity Day!)

Kazakhstan is pretty much drop-dead gorgeous: