Public holidays in Turkmenistan fall into three main categories: (a) holidays commemorating historical events (the defense of the Geok Teppe fortress in 1881, World War II in 1941-45) and landmarks since the declaration of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

's independence in 1991 (Independence Day, Neutrality Day, State Flag Day, Day of Revival and Unity); (b) traditional and religious holidays revived since independence (Nowruz Bayram, Kurban Bayram, Oraza Bayram); and (c) new holidays introduced to honor and reinforce cultural traditions of the Turkmen people (harvest, water conservation, folk singers, Turkmen carpets, and the Turkmen racing horse).

List of Public Holidays in Turkmenistan (as of 2009):

• January 1 – New Year's Day
• January 12 – Memorial Day (honoring those who fell on 12 January 1881 defending the Geok Tepe
  Geok Tepe
  Geok Tepe, Gökdepe or Gokdepe, is a former fortress of the Turkmens, in Turkmenistan, in the oasis of Ahal, on the Transcaspian railway, 28 miles north-west of Ashgabat. Gökdepe is the Russian version of the Turkic name meaning "Blue Hill" from the Turkmen gök "blue" and depe "hill" or "summit"...
  
   fortress against the Russian troops)
• February 19 – State Flag of Turkmenistan Day
• March 8 – Turkmen Woman's Day (coincides with International Woman's Day)
• March 20-21 – Nowruz Bayram
  Nowruz
  Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
  
  , national spring holiday
• First Sunday in April – "A Drop of Water—A Grain of Gold" Festival
• Last Sunday in April – Turkmen Racing Horse Festival
• May 8 – Day of Commemoration of the National Heroes of the 1941-1945 World War
• May 9 – Victory Day (World War II)
• May 18-19 – Day of Revival, Unity, and the Poetry of Magtymguly
  Magtymguly Pyragy
  Magtymguly Pyragy was a Turkmen spiritual leader and philosophical poet who made significant efforts to secure independence and autonomy for his people in the 18th century....
  
  
• Last Sunday in May – Carpet Day
• June 27 - Day of Turkmen Workers of Culture and Art (introduced in 2009)
• Third Sunday in July – Galla Bayramy (celebration of the wheat harvest)
• Second Sunday in August - Turkmen Melon Day
  Melon Day
  Melon Day is an annual national holiday in Turkmenistan devoted to festivities to celebrate the country's muskmelon, in particular a recent crossbreed product named "Turkmenbashi melon" , which is praised for its aroma, taste and large size.This holiday was established by Turkmenistan’s previous...
  
  
• Second Saturday in September – Day of the Workers in the Oil, Gas, Power, and Geological Industry
• Second Sunday in September – Turkmen Bakhshi Day (celebrating the Turkmen folk singers)
• October 6 – Day of Commemoration and National Mourning (commemorating the victims of the 1948 earthquake that destroyed Ashgabat)
• October 27-28 – Independence Day
• First Saturday in November – Health Day
• Last Sunday in November – Harvest Festival (celebration of the cotton harvest)
• First Sunday in December – Good Neighborliness Day
• December 12 – Day of Neutrality and Student Youth Day
• First day of the lunar month of Bayram (Shawwal
  Shawwal
  Shawwāl is the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Shawwāl means to ‘lift or carry’; so named because she-camels normally would be carrying a fetus at this time of year.-Fasting during Shawwāl:...
  
  ) – Oraza Bayram (the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Fitr
  Eid ul-Fitr
  Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
  
  ), breaking of the fast at the end of the lunar month of Oraza (the ninth month in the Islamic calendar)
• Moving holiday (3 days) – Kurban Bayram (the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha)

External links

• Public holidays in Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan: The Bradt Travel Guide, 2006, pp. 48-51, on Google Books
• Holidays in Turkmenistan