Children's New Year Celebrations

In Kazakhstan, just as in Russia, the biggest holiday of the year is the New Year. I'll do a different post about all the things people do here to get ready for the New Year but today I wanted to tell about Novogodny Utrennik (New Year's Celebration for the kids) they do around here. This is something I did as a kid growing up in Russia, so I was excited for our girls to have a similar experience.

At the end of December each of our girls’ classes went to a New Year’s Show.  Parents buy a ticket which cost about $10-25 and which gets you in to participate in a show and at the end you get a present from Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost). Kids can come dressed as different fairy tale characters, they sing songs, dance, and play games. Each show is different but they follow the same scenario. Usually some bad characters would try to stop Ded Moroz and his granddaughter Snegurocka (Snow Maiden) from delivering the presents to the kids by kidnapping them or stealing the presents. And then some good heroes try to save the day with the kids’ help.  It is a lot of fun for the kids!

 

Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) and his granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden)

 Often these shows are done at the school but our kids’ school director (principal) decided that each class should go to performances that were taking place at different entertainment centers around the town.  Sophia and Lexa’s 1^st grade class and Polina’s 3^rd grade class decided to go to a New Year’s Celebration Show to the Children’s Palace on December 20^th and Veronika’s 4^th grade class decided to go to a big entertainment center with an indoor aquarium called “Duman” on December 24^th. Besides that Nazarbayev University had a show as well, so our girls had a lot of fun.

First Lina and the twins went to their show.

Alexandra (dressed up as Night Fairy), Polina (dressed up as Snegurocka or Snow Maiden), and Sophia (dressed up as a gypsy girl) are ready for their show to start.

All the kids dressed in costumes at the Children's Palace. You can see the parents watching from the balcony.

Sophia and Alexandra's classmates and their parents.

After that show was over we went home to have a quick snack and go to Nazarbayev University to see their show that they were doing for the kids of all of the professors and administrative staff. Most of the foreign professors flew home to their various destinations that same morning, so there was just a handful of expat families and a lot of local families.

Our girls running to the place where they had the show at NU

The show began with the appearance of some Disney characters. The kids and their parents made a big circle for them.

Some interesting selection of characters.

Then the villains showed up who tried to ruin New Year for the kids

But no matter how hard the villains tried to stop Ded Moroz and Snegurochka, they still made it to the kids and the fun had begun.

Ded Moroz and Snegurochka started their show

Sophia and Lexa

The kids solved riddles, sang songs and danced.

Kids dancing

With Ded Moroz

The last of the shows was Veronika's a few days later. Their teacher let them out of school a few hours early, so the kids could get ready. My mom made it here from Krasnoyarsk, Russia the day before. She brought with her Veronika's costume which she sewed herself. Our other girls' costumes we bought at the bazaar at the beginning of December. 

Veronika dressed up as Snegurochka (Snow Maiden)

The kids were first greeted by a magical talking stump.

Then they had a visit by this cool looking Dinosaur.

Then Ded Moroz came with his Granddaughter Snegurochka

When I was a kid they would arrive on a horse sleigh. Nowadays I guess they use trains!

Again, they played games and sang songs with the kids. Then the kids could go up and recite a poem about New Years for which they would get a little present.

Then they said some magical words and lit up the big Christmas Tree (here it is called New Year's Tree) and danced some more around it.

Here is Veronika with her friend and classmate Kate after the show with their presents. 

Our kids had a lot of fun at these shows, and I am glad they experienced a little piece of my childhood.