When is Day of Unity?
Day of Unity (Kazakh: Qazaqstan xalqynyń birligi merekesi) is a national holiday in the Republic of Kazakhstan on May 1st each year.
Also known as Kazakhstan's People Solidarity Day, this holiday is intended to celebrate the unity of the different peoples who live in the country.
History of Day of Unity
Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country and the ninth-largest country in the world. It should therefore come as no surprise that this Central Asian nation is made up of a variety of ethnic groups, with representatives of more than hundred nationalities. For instance, Russians make up 24% of the population and over 1% of the citizens are German.
As a way of showing the contribution that the different ethnic and cultural groups make to the unity of the country, this national holiday was introduced by a decree of President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1995.
It doesn't hurt its popularity that the holiday takes place at the start of summer and a day when most of the rest of the world is off for International Labour Day. Demonstrations, street festivities, theatrical performances, patriotic actions and sporting events are held across the country.
In Astana, there is a fair where representatives of the ethno-cultural centres treat guests to famous dishes from their cuisines.
