The younger generation has already forgotten many holidays and traditions of the Uzbek people. One of them – the holiday “Kozon tuldi”, one of the oldest holidays of Uzbek nationalities, and literally translates as filling the cauldron. This holiday or the custom has lost its meaning today, but in ancient times the Nowruz festivities began with this family custom “Kozon tuldi”.
According to tradition, in order for the new year to be beneficial, for the year to be fruitful and there was plenty of everything, the family filled all the dishes in the house with water and cooked a full cauldron of their favorite dish. It was believed that on the eve of the holiday Kozon tuldi, the spirits of the ancestors, visit the houses where they lived when they were in this world. Therefore, the descendants tried to decorate the festive dastarkhan as diverse and richer as possible.
One of the events related to the harvest is “Kovun Saili”, a celebration of the melon harvest. In the Middle Ages, to “Kovun saili” was given great importance. When melons began to ripen, farmers called guests, elders of the village, neighbors and relatives. On the day of sayil, the owner of the melon field covered the table with delicious dishes and also treated guests with melons. After the meal, the elders blessed the owner and his melon, thereby allowing harvesting.
There were also such famous holidays as: Mehrjon – harvest festival, Uzum saili – grape festival, Anor saili – pomegranate festival, Sogym – cattle slaughter day, as well as flower festivals on the occasion of the flowering of tulips, roses, snowdrops and other flowers. Some of which are still celebrated.
One of the holidays that today is grandly celebrated by Uzbeks is Nowruz. It is celebrated on March 21, the day of the vernal equinox. This period is considered the new year, the beginning of the season of growth and prosperity. Nowruz is celebrated by more than 20 nations and nationalities around the world.
In Uzbekistan, both local and international holidays are celebrated these days, such as:
- January 1: New Year
- January 14: Defenders of the Motherland Day
- March 8: Women’s Day
- March 21: Nowruz – New Year and the vernal equinox
- May 9: the Day of Remembrance and Honors
- Ramadan Hait (the date is set according to the lunar Muslim calendar)
- Kurban Hait (Eid al-Adha) (70 days after Ramadan Hait)
- September 1: Independence Day
