Sabantuy is, perhaps, the most popular festival in Tatarstan. It is "a celebration of the plough" (in the Tatar language "saban" means "plough" and "tuy" means "festival"). This holiday takes place at the beginning of summer, after the first haymaking. During this festival there are a lot of spectacular competitions. The most exciting are the horse races. (The Bulgars' ancestors lived a nomadic life, had horses and were good riders.)

Another popular competition is the national wrestling. At the end they choose a winner. He is usually given a good prize.

There are also a lot of funny competitions and sport games, for example, egg-races, "running-in-sacks" races. Climbing up a high pole is rather difficult, but very funny. The prize is a big cock, sitting on the top! In the villages young women usually make presents for the winners. Everyone tries to show his / her skills and talent.

 Nauruz

Maslennitsa

Maslennitsa is a traditional Russian holiday. Maslennitsa takes place at the end of winter. In old times Slavic people believed in different Gods and Yarilo was the main of them. In his honour people fried a lot of pancakes - hot and round like the sun and put much butter on them. The holiday lasted a week. During the holiday people played snowballs, made snow castles and rode a sledge. They visited each other and celebrated this holiday together.

Nowadays it is one of the most favourite holidays and it is very popular with people of all nationalities.