Day of Gratitude

1 March is celebrated in Kazakhstan as the Day of Gratitude. The holiday was established in 2016 and coincides with the founding day of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, created on 1 March 1995.

In the 1930s and 1940s tens of thousands of families — Koreans, Germans, Chechens, Ingush, Poles, Meskhetian Turks and other peoples — were deported to Kazakhstan. The Kazakhs, though facing hardship themselves, took them into their homes and shared their last bread. The day expresses gratitude for that hospitality and for the friendship of peoples who supported one another.

How it is marked

Schools, culture centres and ethnic-cultural associations hold meetings, concerts and evenings of remembrance. People thank their families, teachers and elders, and charity campaigns are organised.