Ysyakh
This is the big festival, the biggest traditional Yakut festival there is. It's the Yakut national festival celebrating and wishing for fertility, usually celebrated on the Summer Solstice 21 June. In some years the date can wander around. There's an all-nationality parade in the suburb of Us Khatyn Ð£Ñ Ð¥Ð°ÑÑн, which sees tens of thousands of people from all the various peoples of the Russian Federation and make no mistake, there are tons of different ethnicities within the country. The main event, as a rule, of the two-day festival, is the painted blessing ceremony of the harvest by the White Shaman. No less important for the Yakuts are the sacred rites of the second day's sunrise. The festivities are conducted with competitions in traditional Yakut sports, like Yakut archery, stick fighting, "Khapsagai" ХапÑагай wrestling, and also national arts: singing, Vargan mouth harp, reciting of traditional oral epics, and others. There are also competitions to make the best national dishes, folk costumes, traditional folk concerts, as well as local popular music. In short, it's a blast and this is the time to visit.
