Nardugan
December 25 · Level 8 · #501 of 2238
Nardugan is an ancient winter festival of the Turkic peoples of Siberia, devoted to the "birth" of a new Sun after the longest night. From this point the daylight slowly starts to grow.
How it is celebrated: among the Shors and other Siberian Turkic groups, people light bonfires, prepare festive food and hold rituals welcoming the returning light. They gather together, sing, dance and wish each other warmth and good fortune for the whole year.
Nardugan falls around the winter solstice. After that point the days in the northern hemisphere begin to lengthen, which makes the idea of the festival easy to grasp without any explanation.