Georgia and Kazakhstan celebrate the Day of Love

Georgia and Kazakhstan celebrate the Day of Love

The national Day of Love is celebrated on April 15 in Georgia. It was introduced in 1993. The idea of the holiday belongs to the Georgian journalist Besik Chubinidze, who was born on April 15. Chubinidze dedicated this holiday to his beloved wife Maya.

The Georgian Day of Love has been proposed as an alternative to the Valentine's Day celebrated in the West. Nevetheless, Georgians prefer to celebrate both holidays.

By tradition, couples get each other romantic gifts, sweets, toys and flowers, Sputnik Georgia reports.

The Georgian Day of Love coincides with the Kazakh Valentine's Day, which is celebrated in Kazakhstan also on April 15 since 2011.

The Kazakh Valentine's Day – ‘Ұлттық ғашықтар күні’ - has been celebrated since 2011 on students' initiative. It is dedicated to the heroes of the legendary poem of the 13-14th centuries Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu.

The aim of Ұлттық ғашықтар күні is to popularize national traditions. It symbolizes sublime love, pure relationships, and a readiness to sacrifice one's life for the sake of a loved one. 

Schools of the republic are organizing song contests in the Kazakh language, national games, contests and competitions. The main goal of this holiday is to familiarize teenagers with rich Kazakh folklore, in which the lyric and epic poem about Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu plays a special role, the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper writes.

The Day of Love has also been introduced as an alternative to Valentine's Day, the celebration of which concerned the pupil’s parents. In 2011, for the first time letters have been sent by the Ministry of Education to the management of Almaty schools with a request to postpone the celebration of Valentine's Day to April 15th, Tengrinews.kz reports.

The poem about Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu tells the story about two old friends Karabay and Sarybay who gave each other an oath that their children would get married. Sarybay dies while hunting, when his son is an infant. Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan-Sulu, who were growing up without seeing each other finally fall in love with each other. But Karabay changes his mind and decides to marry his daughter to another batyr - Kodar, who saved his herds. Kodar kills Kozy,and Bayan decides to take revenge on the murderer. She promises to marry Kodar, if he digs her a deep well. Kodar agrees. As the well gets deeper, Bayan suggestes that Kadar descendes into the well holding her long braids. As Kodar descendes into the well, Bayan cuts off her braids and kills Kodar.

In the end Bayan stabs herself in heart with a dagger on Kozy's grave.

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