Nowruz is a new year celebration for Mongolia’s Kazakhs, many of whom live in the Bayan Ulgii province. Nowruz celebrations take place on 21-22 March, the day of the spring equinox. People believe the more generous the celebration of Nowruz, the happier the year would be.
The festival is not just unique to Mongolia’s Kazakh community, Nowruz – as it also known – it is celebrated by an estimated 300 million people in Kazakhstan, Turkey, Albania, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran and by communities in India and around the world. In 2010, the United Nations declared 21 March as International Nowruz Day.