Public holidays in Azerbaijan
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
[change | change source]Public holidays
[change | change source]| Date | English name | Azerbaijani name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1–2 | New Year's Day | Yeni il | 2 days |
| January 20 | Martyrs' Day | Qara Yanvar | Commemorates Black January (1990) when Soviet troops entered Baku and killed more than 130 civilians.[2] Victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are also remembered. |
| March 8 | Women's Day | Qadınlar günü | 1 day |
| March 20–24 | Spring Festival | Novruz | 5 days |
| May 9 | Victory Day over Fascism | Faşizm üzərinə qələbə günü | In honor of victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany during World War II. |
| May 28 | Independence Day | Müstəqillik Günü | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918). |
| June 15 | National Salvation Day | Azərbaycan xalqının Milli Qurtuluş günü | Parliament invited Heydar Aliyev to Baku to lead the country (1993). |
| June 26 | Azerbaijan Armed Forces Day | Azərbaycan Respublikasının Silahlı Qüvvələri günü | Commemorates the founding of the Azerbaijani National Army on this day in 1918. |
| November 8 | 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. |
| November 9 | 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] |
| December 31 | International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis | Dünya Azərbaycanlılarının Həmrəyliyi günü | This was 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 Azerbaijanis 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
[change | change source]National days in Azerbaijan that are working days follows:
- January 30 – Day of Azerbaijani customs
- February 2 – Day of Youth in Azerbaijan[6]
- February 11 – Day of Revenue Service
- February 26 – Khojaly Massacre commemoration day
- March 5 – Day of Physical Culture and Sport
- March 28 – Day of National Security
- March 23 – Day of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
- April 10 – Day of the builder
- May 10 – Flower Festival
June
[change | change source]- June 2 – Day of Civil Aviation
- June 5 – Day of Reclamation
- June 18 – Human Rights Day
- June 20 – Day of the gas sector
July
[change | change source]- July 2 – Day of Azerbaijani Police
- July 9 – Day of the employees of the diplomatic service
- July 22 – National Press Day in Azerbaijan
August
[change | change source]- August 1 – Day of Azerbaijani language and alphabet.
- August – National Day of Azerbaijani cinema
September
[change | change source]- September 15 – Day of Knowledge
- September 18 – Day of National Music
- September 20 – Day of Azerbaijani Oil / Oil Workers' Day[7]
- September 27 – Memorial Day
October
[change | change source]- October 1 – Day of prosecutors in Azerbaijan [8]
- October 13 – Day of Azerbaijani Railways
- October 18 – Independence Restoration Day
November
[change | change source]- November 6 – Day of Baku Metro Employees
- November 12 – Constitution Day
- November 17 – National Revival Day
- November 22 – Day of Justice of Azerbaijan
December
[change | change source]- December 6 – Day of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan
- December 12 – Memorial Day of Heydar Aliyev
- December 16 – Day of Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations
Religious days
[change | change source]Only the holidays of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha are non-working religious days in Azerbaijan. This is because the country is highly secular and irreligious.[9][10] The religious population mainly in Nardaran and a number of other villages and regions celebrate the Day of Ashura.[11] Religious minorities like Orthodox Christians and Jews also celebrate notable religious days of their faith.[12] Despite the fact that the holiday Novruz takes its roots from the religion of Zoroastrianism, almost all Azerbaijanis celebrates it as a holiday of spring.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Constitution of Republic of Azerbaijan". Archived from the original on 2019-02-24. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ Esslemont, Tom (20 January 2010). "BBC News – Azerbaijan remembers Martyrs' Day". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ↑ "Azerbaijan marks National Flag Day". Today.az. November 9, 2012. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
- ↑ "Azerbaijan sets National Flag Day". Today.az. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ↑ Breaking Down The Azerbaijani-Iranian Border Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
- ↑ 2 February-Youth Day in Azerbaijan
- ↑ "Azerbaijan marks Oil Workers' Day". news.az. Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ↑ "Azərbaycan :: Baş səhifə". www.azerbaijans.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ↑ "South Travels – Azerbaijan". Archived from the original on 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ GALLUP WorldView – data accessed on 17 january 2009
- ↑ Shia mourning day in the Islamic calendar.
- ↑ "Azerbaijan's Udin ethnic minority celebrates Easter". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2022-02-11.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Holidays of Azerbaijan (in English)