Khakas welcome spring during Chyl Pazy celebrations

The Khakas celebrated their New Year, or Chyl Pazy, on March 19. The date marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

A favorite festival in Khakassia, Chyl Pazy marks the beginning of a new life.

Chyl Pazy also includes a festival of traditional cuisine. Cooks from every municipal region prepared local dishes for the celebrations this year.

Potkhu, a national Khakas gruel with sour cream.

Chyl Pazy is celebrated after the spring equinox on March 22. Three bonfires are lit near a birch – a sacred tree for the Khakas. A sacral fire is lit to the east where people pray and ask the life-giving fire for a better life and fate. A cooking fire is lit to the southwest. And a fire for burning black “chalama” is lit to the northwest. “Chalama” is a special ribbon tied in knots denoting the number of illnesses and troubles a person had the previous year.

Other “chalama” with requests and wishes are tied to the sacred birch tree known as the “khazyn.”

A white ribbon denotes clean thoughts and intentions. A red ribbon symbolizes the sun: warmth, life and prosperity. A blue ribbon means clear skies and a connection with the cosmos and the “upper world.”

Chyl Pazy celebrations include a contest for takhpakh (folktale) performers.

The festival includes eating eggs consecrated by the “spirit of Earth.”

A ritual egg is a symbol of new life. According to Khakas legend, anyone who touches the egg three times, feeling its warmth, is granted three wishes.