Pomegranate (in Turkish: Nar) thematic table in Nardugan Nardoqan or Nardugan (, , , , ) was a Turkic holiday concept in

Tengriism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is a belief-system originating in the Eurasian Steppe, Eurasian steppes, based on shamanism and animism. It generally involves the titular sky god Tengri. According to some scholars, ...

. Nowadays, it is most commonly used to refer to the

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

in many

Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and

Siberian Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states si ...

languages. The holiday is akin, both in terms of timing and also the concept (the birth of the sun), to

Yalda Night Yaldā Night () or Chelle Night (also Chellah Night, , lit. "fortieth night") is an ancient festival in Iran, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan that is celebrated on the winter solstice. This corresponds t ...

. Given the historicity of

Turko-Persian The composite Turko-Persian, Turco-Persian,
''Turko-Persia in historical perspective'', Cambridge University Press, ...

(religious, literary, and cultural) ties, and the symbolism of pomegranate fruit among Iranians during Yalda, the two festivities manifestly share origins. It is also used as an equivalent name for the Christian holiday

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Etymology

The root of the word is not clear. But associated with following words: *

Old Turkic Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...

: Nar – The Sun *

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

: Нар (Nar) – The Sun * Oirat: Нарн (Narn) – The Sun And Turkic verb ''Doğmak'' (that means ''to born'' or ''to rise'') merged and combined with this root. Also it means the "Newborn Sun". The term 'Nar' (Turkish: Nar. Armenian: նուռ. Persian: انار) bears a symbolic reference to the sun, especially due to the white seeds.

References

{{reflist

Sources

*Kadim Diller ve Yazılar, Haluk Berkmen �
Noel ve Nardugan

External links

Nardugan Bayramı

* (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=the-christmas-tree-made-in-turkistan-2009-12-24) Turkic mythology December observances Christmas-linked holidays Turkish folklore Asian shamanism Religious festivals in Turkey Shamanistic festivals Winter solstice

Etymology

See also

References

Sources

External links