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kashgar Amusement
The major entertainment in Kashgar is to experience its traditional folk festivals celebrated by multiple ceremonies and activities.
Corban Festival
This festival was celebrated by such Chinese ethnic groups as the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Uzbek, Salar, Tajik, Tatar, Kyrgyz, Dongxiang and Bao’an. The word Corban, transliterated from the Arabic, means butchering cattle or blood sacrifice.
Time: Dec.10th on the Moslem calendar
Activities: Before Corban, every household will clean their houses and make pastries. In the morning of Corban, Muslims need to take bath and attend the ceremony in the mosque with their neatest dress. The Uygur people in Xinjiang Province, whether from cities or villages, will get together on their squares, singing and dancing. Around the Square there will be numerous tents, all decorated with distinctive carpets and kerchief and serving delicious snacks. In the Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz, Corban is always accompanied by traditional contests like horse racing, buzkashi as well as wrestling.
Id al Fitr
Id al Fitr is borrowed from the Arabic. Ethnic groups in Xinjiang call it “Rozah” or “Rouzi”, meaning abstaining from meat and symbolizing the beginning of Muslim Ramadan.
Time: Late September on the Moslem calendar.
Activities: During the Ramadan, Muslims need to have “feng zhai fan”, a dinner prior to fasting before the sunrise. Between the sunrise and sunset, not a single drop of water or a tiny grain of rice is allowed. Even smokers are banned to smoke. Muslims should pay the highest tribute Allah by refraining from any personal desire and evil thoughts. Only children, the elders and pregnant women are entitled to spare those customs.
However, when evening approaches, the fasting reaches a pause. People from neighborhood can get together, eating and chatting. The street revives. This lifestyle will last for one month.
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