Literally, of course, Novruz is not a "holi"-day in the sense that it is a secular celebration. Indeed, I have heard of some pious Azerbaijanis who do not celebrate it because they say that the Qu'ran recognizes only two holy days (Qurban and Ramadan), which does not include Novruz.
Anyway, last month marked my first experience of Novruz in Azerbaijan. It was like a cross between Halloween and one of those Thanksgivings where you have multiple familial food-intake obligations to fulfill in one day.
In addition to celebrating with my current host family, I managed to visit three other families in the settlement in which we had Pre-Service Training (PST): my PST host family, my PST host uncle's family (which hosted my training cluster's Language and Cultural Facilitator (LCF)), and a neighboring host family where I guested a lot.
Like a long day of Thanksgiving meals, I had to pace myself when I visited each family, but the traditional foods were basically the same: rice with dried apricots, raisins, and chestnuts; chicken levengi, fish levengi, baxlava, şəkərbura (which looks sort of like an empanada but has a sweet filling).
In anticipation of Novruz, Peace Corps Azerbaijan's director of language and cultural training sent out a great write-up about Novruz, which I can't top, so I have reproduced it below. The pics are mine; the text is not, except for my [italicized comments in brackets]:
"Novruz is the most widely celebrated holiday in Azerbaijan. It symbolizes the end of winter and the coming of spring. The word ‘Novruz’ comes from the Farsi word for 'new day', and is a celebration of the spring Equinox. Novruz is celebrated on the first day of spring. The first day of spring on the calendar is determined by the annual rotation of the Sun.
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| Torpaq ("Earth") Day at one of my organizations |
"According to old inscriptions, the holiday of Novruz was established in 505 B.C. Zoroastrians celebrated Novruz during the Spring Equinox, which falls on either March 20th or 21st. Preparation for Novruz begins one month prior to the holiday itself. Several major preparation days representing the four elements of nature take place on the four Tuesdays leading up to Novruz: Su Charshabnasi (water-Tuesday) Od Charshanbasi (Fire -Tuesday), Yel Charshanbasi (wind -Tuesday), and Akhir or Torpag Charshanbasi (final or - earth Tuesday). [As a state-side friend mused, it's like Captain Planet and the actual day of Novruz is the heart.] According to ancient folk beliefs, the first Tuesday is for water, which purifies. This is followed by Fire Tuesday, then Wind and then finally Earth. [I celebrated 'Earth' Day with a lunch at one of my organizations. See right.] These elements awaken nature and the trees begin to blossom. As implied by its timing and natural significance, Novruz is a time of renewal and symbolizes rebirth, awakening, cleanliness and newness. Thus, the Novruz holiday is connected with spring, the beginning of agricultural work, renewal of nature and the approach of warm days. Understandably, this period of the year has always been important for Azerbaijanis. In agricultural areas, trees are pruned and fields are cleared. One tradition is the annual Novruz cleaning, which is similar to the American tradition of “spring cleaning.” Families wash their rugs, draperies, and beddings, clean and wax their furniture and often repaint the interior of their homes. [In a feat of continued gender-role-breaking (you may recall that I helped do the dishes after Thanksgiving, much to the amusement of my friend's host mom), I did the spring cleaning of my own room.]
"During the Soviet period it was prohibited to celebrate Novruz but despite the many years of Soviet rule, Novruz has retained much of its ancient traditions and games. For example, ‘Kos-Kosa' funny square game (the symbol of spring's coming) and fortune-telling are among them. Another tradition connected with Novruz is jumping over fire, the symbol of purification and clarification. Bonfires are made before the Novruz holiday on Akhir Charshanba. Regardless of age or gender, people jump seven times over one bonfire, or once over seven bonfires and say, “Give me your redness and take my yellowness.” This can also be translated as, “Take my hardships, give me your lightness.” Thus, hardships and troubles from the past year are “dropped” into the flames of the bonfire. [For whatever reason, I was informed that I needed only to jump over the bonfire three times.]
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| Sprouting own wheat |
"The most enjoyable tradition is “Papaq atma”, or in English, “hat throwing”. This is similar to the American tradition of “trick or treat,” in that children visit their neighbors and leave their caps or a basket on the door step. The children knock on the door, and then hide to see if they will receive candy, nuts or treats. [Not having a hat, I didn't go door-to-door to receive any candy, but I did help give some out.]
"Several things are used to symbolize the occasion; in Azerbaijan sprouted wheat is a favourite. Sprouted wheat is grown in a small vase and placed in a prominent place in the house, such as the center of the table. The vase with the wheat is called a 'samani'. Usually, a samani bunch is fastened with a red ribbon. [On TV, I saw advertisements for sprouted wheat in some very fancy designs for up to 2000 AZN, which is about $2600 USD(!).]
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| Fresh, home-made baxlava |
"Azerbaijanis pay particular attention to the table setting for the holiday. There should be seven varieties of food on the table. Usually people put a khoncha- a tray - with all kinds of food, raisins, nuts, sweets, dried fruits, coloured eggs and candles - on the table. Families prepare special Novruz deserts to reenergize bodies and spirits after a cold winter. If Samani is a green symbol of Novruz, two desserts, Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura, are the spring holiday’s sweet symbols. No Novruz table is complete without şəkərbura and baxlava. [There is so much baxlava and şəkərbura around this time of year that afterwards, your body goes into withdrawal from the decrease in sugar supply once leftovers run out.]
"According to tradition, all close family members should be at home on the first day of the holiday. People say: 'If you are not at home on the day of the holiday, you will be homeless for seven years.' Outer doors are kept open, because children throw hats, girls sneak the doors of their neighbors etc. In rayons if the outer door is not open it is not possible to do these activities. Usually there is a long distance between outer doors and inner doors.
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| Fresh-out-of-the-oven şəkərbura |
"The peak of Novruz is the time when the past year gives its place to the new one. In the old days, people shot pistols into the air in honour of Novruz. Nowadays, pistols have been replaced by fireworks and feasting. On the first day of the New Year, lights are kept turned on all night, as a turned-off light and/or fire are symbols of misfortune. On the first day of the New Year, it is a tradition to rise early in the morning. If it is possible, people go to a local water source (such as a river or spring) where they wash themselves and splash water on each other. Water is a symbol of cleanliness and freshness.
"Novruz Bayramı is one of the most ancient and beautiful festivities in Azerbaijan. There are a lot of legends and fortunetelling related to "Axir Chershenbe" ("Last Tuesday") that precedes Novruz (March 20-21). Many believe that fortunetelling before dusk on this day might predict the future. Unmarried girls do not miss an opportunity to find out on this day when and who they will marry. Around dusk, Azerbaijani girls and young men sneak to doors of their neighbors and eavesdrop on their conversations. Then, based on the first words they heard, they try to tell their fortune and guess if their wishes will come true." [When my host sister eavesdropped, she was excited to hear the word "congratulations."]
