Aliyev congratulates nation on historic date

The Azerbaijani people celebrated national holidays in a rather low-key way during the Soviet Union times. However, after they asserted sovereignty and established an independent state upon the Soviet collapse in 1991, March 20-21 - the Novruz Bayrami (Holiday) marking the advent of spring - were officially announced holidays. President Ilham Aliyev has lately issued a decree announcing the celebration of the holiday for five days for the first time in the republic's history. Under the decision, the people of Azerbaijan will celebrate the date for a full week starting this year.

President Aliyev, in his congratulatory message on Monday, said the holiday, which is a proud legacy of Azerbaijanis' ancestors, brilliantly reflects the ancient traditions and customs.

"The holiday builds confidence for the future, generates the highest sentiments and calls on people to be more forgiving and kind," the president's message said. "The Azerbaijani people have always held in high esteem and protected the Novruz holiday from alien influence throughout very challenging periods."

The president congratulated the Azerbaijani soldiers and commemorated those who fell while defending Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. He noted that Azerbaijanis living broad mark Novruz joyously and proudly along with the citizens of independent Azerbaijan. "The Novruz holiday is a symbol of sincere solidarity of world Azerbaijanis that strengthens their inseparable bonds with the motherland."

Novruz meaning "New day" has become the most important among Azerbaijan's national holidays. It has been ingrained in the people's memory for many centuries and became a social event in their history.

From the ancient times, the vernal equinox, "The Coming Day of Spring", has been solemnly celebrated in the Near East. Distinct from other national and religious holidays, Novruz is closely associated with Nature. Being closely related to the astronomic calendar, this holiday used to be marked not only by Azerbaijanis, but also by Eastern people and the Romans. On the eve of the holiday, they would clean houses and yards, clear the fields, put everything in order, wash and wear new clothes, start bonfires on rooftops and in the yards and jump over them. They also organized festivities in forests or fields.

In the 1970s, UNESCO spear-headed a debate on whether the New Year should be marked on January 1 or March 21. Unfortunately, these discussions turned out fruitless.

During the Communist regime, celebrations of Novruz Bayrami as a national holiday were prohibited. Despite the ban, Azerbaijanis marked the historical date covertly -and succeeded in preserving the custom. After Azerbaijan gained independence, Novruz began to be celebrated as a holiday on a state level.

We are disappointed that Novruz has never been in focus of research and, despite its ancient history, information about its origin and features remains inconclusive and misleading to this day.

The first source of data on the Novruz Holiday ever obtained dates back to the pre-B.C. period. There is a widely believed notion that the holiday starts the New Year with animal symbols, such as the Horse, the Ram, the Hare, the Monkey, the Snake, the Rat and so on. The idea comes from the ancient Turkish calendar linking the New Year with one of the 12 animals and proves that Novruz has become one of the first-ever holidays marked by the Turkic-speaking people, including Azerbaijanis.

The celebration of Novruz in ancient Azerbaijan is related to the triumph of Spring over Winter and the awakening of nature and all living things. The essence of nature abruptly changes from showers to sunshine. There is a belief circulating that everything in the nature falls asleep on the last Wednesday, Ilakhir Charshanba, before the holiday. Everything stops and even waters cease to run then. "But that night everything natural is revived and enlivened. Old water at home has to be dumped and dishes rinsed with fresh water. People should go to the springs to wash their hands and faces and jump over water as soon as the day breaks, according to the belief.

The people used to wait impatiently for Novruz and greet it as the awakening of Nature, a time when Virtue gets the upper hand over Evil, a bountiful harvest and the holiday of Hope. "When Novruz conies, flowers bloom, the fields are full of raisins and nightingales warble their songs," the old saying goes.

Another source says that Novruz is associated with the legend of Arganacon and called the Liberation Holiday". The legend goes that thanks to the smith's mind and Grey Wolf, the nation, enslaved for centuries in the mountains, had been finally released and then came into the wide world and gained freedom. The happy occasion dated March 9 was celebrated on March 21 of the new calendar. Thus, Novruz used to be marked in Azerbaijan as a holiday of Nature and national liberation.

The last month of winter and the old year, "chille betcha", is divided into four last Wednesdays (Ilakhir Charshanba), which are related to four elements - Wind, Fire, Water and Soil. Novruz brings people hopes of putting an end to a bad day, replacing Winter with Spring during these four Wednesdays and the start of the harvesting season.

Various ceremonies and performances at this stage give the nation strength to withstand the hardships of winter. The very nature of activities during the last Wednesdays symbolizes hope for better times ahead, as jumping over the fire and water inspires people to be strong to overcome the hardships of the ending wintry season.

The research available contains only a little truth about the origin of Novruz. The historical roots of the holiday had emerged and formed as the nation shaped up its history and date back to the third millennium B.C. The heroes of Novruz performances, i.e. Kossa ("a man who has little facial hair or no beard at all"), ketchal ("a balding man") and the Goat, as well as other symbols, including a candle, a rooster, the so-called Samani (a green sprout of wheat), are widely used during the celebrations.