The recipe for any "toy" [ТОЙ] consists of a few key ingredients. One, inviting persons and reason [i.e. a birth, birthday, wedding or holiday]. There are glossy photographed invitations for things like weddings and birthdays. Each is handwritten to the person or family to be invited. The second ingredient is a large cafe or restaurant.
These places are rented out for any occasion during the year. These places make a large killing during the holiday season because most
schools, colleges and businesses take their employees and teachers out to the cafe [each person has to pay for themselves, of course]. Sometimes a seat can cost as much as $50. They pay for the room, food for each person and dependent on who is available, the entertainment.
Every weekend, you can hear and see a line of cars colorfully decorated, no doubt a wedding party. They drive around town after the ceremony and end up at one of the aformentioned restaurants for
the reception. We are talking more about holidays here, so..
The third item in the equation are the guests. They are seated at lavish tables covered with "salads" [mostly egg, mayo and crab concoctions] and bowls of fruit. Every table has its own bottle of cognac, wine and vodka [in the most lavish of cases, mostly weddings].
The fourth and very crucial part to having a successful "toy" is an MC. Man, these men get paid so much money. They are so important to keeping the f
ormula right that people will go to great lengths to get the best. The MC's job is to do one of two things. One, keep the crowd entertained and Two, announce who will make toasts.
TOASTS. This is the final and most important element in the equation. Without toasts, it wouldn't be a Kazakh "toy". And here's the secret about the toasts. Everyone makes the same one. The exact same one.
"May your children study well [even before they have them..], Be happy, be successful. I wish you good work and health." Now, I don't particularly have anything against making toasts, but I've been in this country long enough to get a little irritated after the 50th
one, still saying the same as the first. It's a big big big big big big cultural taboo to not keep within the toast formula. People will think you are crazy, unbalanced and may even take offense. Maybe. I'm not totally sure since I've never been audacious to try it.
The MC will invite and welcome the guests to sit down and eat. He will then call the first few on the list. They say their toasts, they sit down and people continue eating. There is some music, maybe a performance and the MC will introduce more on the list. Then, more dancing or a performance and so on. The cycle continues.
People eat, listen to toasts, dance and repeat. Another huge tradition [again, mostly at weddings] is to give gifts to the older members of either family. This happens also in regular non-wedding celebrations but they are limited to Directors or the parents of the person having the birthday or baby. These presents often include clothes, scarves and chocolate.
These "toys" can go on until 1 or 2 in the morning, but they can
also only last 2 hours. They vary in that respect. Mostly, they follow the strict formula laid out and perpetuated contently by the Kazakh people.
So now, for the formula:
Inviting party invites Guests.
Guests arrive, some with gifts.
Guests sit down, as directed by the MC.
The MC plays some music, dancing is encouraged.
The MC calls some people to give toasts.
4 or 5 guests give toasts for the occasion.
The MC invites a performance and then more dancing.
The MC announces that the food will be ready soon.
The MC then announces more people to give toasts.
The formula never breaks, continues just like this. Till the End.
A little sidenote, I recently had a Christmas concert and it went really well. It was a great time. Here is a link to some pictures. ENJOY!
Also, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. Cheers!
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