Traditions

Azerbaijan is a country where national traditions are well preserved. In Azerbaijan where are a lot of traditions.

The holidays on Moon calendar, "Gurban bayram" (the Feast of Sacrifice), "Ramazan" holiday (holiday after fasting) are marked as before. "Novruz" holiday (novruz is translated as "a new day") is the most ancient and cherished holiday of a New Year and spring. It is celebrated on the day of vernal equinox - March 21-22. Novruz is the symbol of nature renewal and fertility. Agrarian peoples of Middle East have been celebrating Novruz since ancient times.

Preparations for Novruz start long before the holiday. People do house cleaning, plant trees, make new dresses, paint eggs, make national pastries such as  shakarbura, pakhlava and a great variety of national cuisine. Wheat is fried with kishmish (raisins) and nuts (govurga). It is essential for every house to have "semeni" - sprouts of wheat. As a tribute to fire-worshiping every Tuesday during four weeks before the holiday kids jump over small bonfires and candles are lit. On the holiday eve the graves of relatives are visited and tended. Novruz is a family holiday. In the evening before the holiday the whole family gathers around the holiday table laid with various dishes to make the New Year rich. The holiday goes on for several days and ends with festive public dancing and other entertainment of folk bands, contests of national sports. In rural areas crop holidays are marked.

In Azerbaijan the following holidays and significant dates are marked at present:

January 1 - New Year
January 20 - Memory Day of Victims of the totalitarian regime killed in the result of the aggression of soviet millitary forces
March 8 - International Women's Day
March 21-22 - Novruz Bayrami
May 9 - Victory Day
May 28 - Day of Republic
October 9 - Day of Armed Forces
October 18 - Day of State Independence
November 12 - Constitution Day
November 17 - Day of National Revival
December 31 - Day of Solidarity of the World Azeris

The diversity and richness of raw resources in Azerbaijan stimulated the development of handicraft and home-industry, pottery, copperware, saddle-making, cotton, wool, silk manufacturing, carpet weaving, jewelry, wood, stone and metal carving.

The carpet industry is a traditional trade in Azerbaijan. It was well developed in Guba, Shirvan, Ganja, Kazakh, Karabakh, in the villages of Baku and in the areas of sheep herds. Azerbaijan carpet weavers derive their patterns from modern life and works of classics of Azerbaijan literature. Wood and stone carving is widely spread in Azerbaijan, decorating the design of houses. Special bars are made for windows called "shabaka". They are cut of wood or assembled without nails or glue from thin wooden plates. In stone carving and other types of applied art geometrical ornament and stylized inscription of plants are dominant. The interior of the houses are decorated with carving in alabaster.

The national costume of Azerbaijan changed greatly within the 19th-20th centuries. The men's dress of that period was similar to that of all Caucasian nations having some distinctions in cut and decoration. Wide trousers of hand-made cloth, a simple tunic shaped shirt made of coarse calico, cotton or satin caftan called arkhaluk - these are the main elements of peasant wearing. The costume was completed with a papakh (a king of cap), woolen socks and home-made shoes. Not everyone could own a "chukha" and sheepskin coat for winter wearing, "kyurk".

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century urban inhabitants used to wear trousers of European style but the rest of the costume remained traditional. The shoes of urban inhabitants in the 19th century were either of ancient style like bashmaks without a back, with turned-up toes with thick heels, or of European fashion with some local design. Clothing of Azeri women of that period was more unique and distinguished according to social layers and ethnic groups. In the color scale of women's clothing bright colors prevailed. The main elements of women's clothing contained a short tunic shaped (belt-length) shirt made from calico, cotton, satin, or silk and worn with a long, wide, pleated skirt. The hair was done in a sack-shaped hairdress covered by silken hand made kerchief. Shoes like men's bashmaks were worn with home-made woolen or silk socks. The woman's costume was decorated with jewelry worn on head, neck, chest, hands. In the city a woman did not appear in the street without wearing the chadra and very often a face was covered with a special veil - rubend. In villages a woman covered the lower part of her face with kerchief. An important item of a woman's costume was a wide, leather belt embroidered with coins and silver buckle.

A child's costume imitated the costumes of adults and differed in a number of items. Cuisine is something very traditional in the life of Azeris. The bread of white wheat flour baked in tandirs is still preferable in villages. Churek and lavash - thin pancakes are also baked. Butter, cheese and katig are made from milk. The traditional Azeri dish is plov. There are over hundred varieties of it. It is made of rice and goes with different meat, fish, vegetable, fruit seasoning. Meat dishes are flavored with chestnuts, dried apricots, raisins, and green herbs. In the northern-western part khingal is a favorite dish - a flour dish with meat, fried onion and kurut (a dried cottage cheese). Dolma is a widespread dish: ground lamb meat with rice and different spices is wrapped into grape leaves (or occasionally in cabbage). Eggplants, potatoes, pepper, apples are also stuffed with lamb meat. Cuisine of some regions has its peculiarities. In Lankaran chicken is stuffed with nuts, onion and jelly and fried on a spit. Fish is also stuffed and baked in tendir. Apsheron is famous for its dushpara - small meat dumplings and kutabs - meat patties made in a very thin dough. Favorite dishes for the first course are pity, kyufta-bosbash - a clear soup with meat balls, rice peas and potatoes. Khamrachi - noodle soup, dovga - soup of sour milk and greenery. On holidays and on special occasions various cookies are baked: shakarbura - a pie of thin dough with nuts and sugar, pakhlava - (a diamond shaped layered sweet pastry with nuts). Doshab is made of vine and tut (mulberry) - a thick syrup.

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