Kyrgyzstan holidays » Kurman Ait
Kurman Ait, Kyrgyzstan
" Kurban mairam " or as we usually call it " Kurman Ait " is a holiday of sacrifice. It begins on the 10th of Zuthidga's month (the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar). This is two month and ten days after Orozo Ait. This is the day that ended Muhammed's journey to Mecca. In memory of that event, every year in the Mina Valley near Mecca, the visiting Muslims kill animals. So do other Muslims throughout the world. And Kyrgyzstan is not an exception. It includes the saying of a special prayer, the visiting of the resting places of the dead, and the visiting of friends and the giving of gifts.
The link berween all these holidays, it seems, is to show respect and love towards ancestors, God, older people, other people and nature.
