Nowruz

Novruz is the festival of spring, the awakening of nature and the start of the new year. It is celebrated at the spring equinox, on 20–21 March, when day and night are equal, and it lives on across the whole Turkic world, from Azerbaijan and Türkiye to Central Asia and Tatarstan.

The four Tuesdays before the holiday — the Water, Fire, Wind and Earth Tuesdays — are devoted to the four elements of nature. Families grow semeni (sprouted wheat), fill the festive tray with shakarbura, pakhlava and gogal, jump over bonfires and knock painted eggs together, while the folk characters Kosa and Kechal entertain the crowds.

International recognition

In 2009 Novruz was inscribed, on the joint initiative of Azerbaijan and other countries, on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and in 2010 the UN proclaimed 21 March International Nowruz Day. In Azerbaijan Novruz is an official holiday with several days off.