In addition to the regular New Year, Turkic peoples also celebrate their own — Nardugan, which in Turkic means “born of the sun”. This holiday is associated with the winter solstice.
Lilia Gabdrafikova, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Senior Researcher at the Sh. Marjani Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, said.

– When it comes to Tatar holidays, the first one that comes to mind is Sabantuy. However, there are also traditional winter holidays that are not often mentioned. It so happened that Sabantuy was actively supported even during the Soviet era, which is why it holds such a strong place in the national consciousness and public life. As for other Tatar holidays with pagan roots, they did not receive the same level of support. Furthermore, even before the revolution, they were displaced by Muslim culture.

Tatars, like other Turkic peoples, had winter holidays such as Nardugan (celebrated in December) and Nowruz (celebrated in March). Both holidays are connected to solar cycles, marking the transition from one natural phase to another. In the past, these holidays were accompanied by folk celebrations, well-wishes for health and a good harvest, treats, and more.

In fact, these celebrations were very similar to the beginning of Sabantuy, when children would also go door to door collecting gifts. During Nardugan, people would also dress up in costumes. In some regions where Tatars lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, these traditions began to overlap with the celebrations of Christmas or the New Year. It seems that the close proximity to Christians influenced this. Similar holidays are also found among Finno-Ugric peoples. However, even these transformed winter celebrations among the Tatars retained their distinct Turkic roots.

Source: samtatnews.ru