Public holidays in Azerbaijan

Holiday in an Azerbaijani village, 1930s. Work by Azim Azimzade.

There are several public holidays in Azerbaijan. Public holidays were regulated in the constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR for the first time on 19 May 1921. They are now regulated by the Constitution of Azerbaijan.[1]

Holidays

Main holidays

Date English name Azerbaijani name Remarks
1–2 January New Year's Day Yeni il 2 days
20 January Martyrs' Day Qara Yanvar (Klirneri Or) Commemorates Black January (1990) when Soviet troops entered Baku and killed more than 130 civilians.[2]
8 March Women's Day Qadınlar günü 1 day
20–24 March Spring Festival Novruz / Mor Kuneli Or 5 days
9 May Victory Day over Fascism Faşizm üzərinə qələbə günü In honor of victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany during World War II.
28 May Independence Day Müstəqillik Günü Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918).
15 June National Salvation Day Azərbaycan xalqının Milli Qurtuluş günü Parliament invited Heydar Aliyev to Baku to lead the country (1993).
26 June Azerbaijan Armed Forces Day Azərbaycan Respublikasının Silahlı Qüvvələri günü Commemorates the founding of the Azerbaijani National Army on this day in 1918.
8 November Victory Day Zəfər Günü Commemorates the Azerbaijani victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war as well as in the Battle of Shusha. It is a non-working day.
9 November State Flag Day Dövlət Bayrağı günü Commemorates the adoption of the Flag of Azerbaijan on November 9, 1918,[3] which was officially established on November 9, 2009, as the State Flag Day.[4]
31 December International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis Dünya Azərbaycanlılarının Həmrəyliyi günü Inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall, the nationalist Popular Front of Azerbaijan called for and lead the removal of borders between Soviet Azerbaijan and Iran on December 31, 1989. This has since been celebrated by Azeris around the world as the International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis.[5]
Changes due to the Islamic lunar calendar Eid al-Fitr Ramazan Bayramı 2 days
Changes due to the Islamic lunar calendar Eid al-Adha Qurban Bayramı 2 days

Other observances

National days in Azerbaijan that are working days follows:

  • 30 January – Day of Azerbaijani customs
  • 2 February – Day of Youth in Azerbaijan[6]
  • 11 February – Day of Revenue Service
  • 26 February – Khojaly massacre commemoration day
  • 5 March – Day of Physical Culture and Sport
  • 23 March – Day of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
  • 28 March – Day of National Security
  • 10 April – Day of the builder
  • 10 May – Flower Festival
  • 2 June – Day of Civil Aviation
  • 5 June – Day of Reclamation
  • 18 June – Human Rights Day
  • 20 June – Day of the gas sector
  • 2 July – Day of Azerbaijani Police
  • 9 July – Day of the employees of the diplomatic service
  • 22 July – National Press Day in Azerbaijan
  • 1 August – Day of Azerbaijani language and alphabet.
  • 2 August – National Day of Azerbaijani cinema
  • 15 September – Day of Knowledge
  • 18 September – Day of National Music
  • 20 September – Day of Azerbaijani Oil / Oil Workers' Day[7]
  • 27 September – Memorial Day
  • 1 October – Day of prosecutors in Azerbaijan [8]
  • 13 October – Day of Azerbaijani Railway
  • 18 October – Independence Restoration Day
  • 6 November – Day of Baku Metro Employees
  • 12 November – Constitution Day
  • 17 November – National Revival Day
  • 22 November – Day of Justice of Azerbaijan
  • 6 December – Day of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan
  • 12 December – Memorial Day of Heydar Aliyev
  • 16 December – Day of Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations

Religious days

Only the holidays of Ramadan and Qurban remain as non-working religious days in Azerbaijan, as the country is highly secular and irreligious.[9][10] The religious population of the country, mainly in Nardaran and a number of other villages and regions, celebrate the Day of Ashura, a Shia mourning day in the Islamic calendar. Religious minorities of the country – mainly Orthodox Christians and Jews - also celebrate notable religious days of their faith.[11] Despite the fact that the holiday Novruz takes its roots from the religion of Zoroastrianism, almost all Azerbaijanis celebrate it as a holiday of spring.

References

  1. ^ "Constitution of Republic of Azerbaijan". Archived from the original on 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
  2. ^ Esslemont, Tom (20 January 2010). "BBC News – Azerbaijan remembers Martyrs' Day". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Azerbaijan marks National Flag Day". Today.az. November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  4. ^ "Azerbaijan sets National Flag Day". Today.az. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  5. ^ "Breaking Down The Azerbaijani-Iranian Border". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2009-12-29. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  6. ^ 2 February-Youth Day in Azerbaijan
  7. ^ "Azerbaijan marks Oil Workers' Day". news.az. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  8. ^ "Azərbaycan :: Baş səhifə". www.azerbaijans.com. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  9. ^ "South Travels – Azerbaijan". Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
  10. ^ GALLUP WorldView – data accessed on 17 january 2009
  11. ^ Azerbaijan's Udin ethnic minority celebrates Easter.