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2.National holidays in Azerbaijan
There are a number of holidays which are celebrated in Azerbaijan.
Gurban and Ramazan are religious holidays which have not a fixed
date of celebration. Gurban is the Muslim Festival of Sacrifices. It
is celebrated 70 days after Orujlug (fasting). The main feature of
Gurban is killing of an animal, mostly a sheep as a sacrifice. Every

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Muslim family must have meat dish on that day.
Republic Day (28 May). The Day of National Salvation of
Azerbaijani People (15 June), State Independence Day (18
October), Constitution Day (12 November), New Year (1 January),
Novruz (20- 21 March) and others are also celebrated in
Azerbaijan as holidays.
Novruz
Novruz is a National Holiday in Azerbaijan. Novruz is one of the
oldest holidays in the world. It‘s a universal holiday. It belongs to
many peoples of the world. People celebrate Novruz as the
birthday of nature and life. The Azerbaijanis celebrate Novruz on
21st March. On this day the sun crosses the equator and lightens
the whole planet. We also call it 
―
Spring Holiday. There are four
pre-holiday Tuesdays on the Eve of Novruz. They all have got
names. The first Tuesday is Water, the second Tuesday is Fire, the
third Tuesday is Breeze and the fourth Tuesday is the Earth. On
these Tuesdays we organize celebrations with the closest people.
Everybody must talk about good and pleasant things. Mothers cook
plov. Children jump over bonfires.
Novruz rituals are very interesting. Parents usually have gifts for
their children. They buy new clothing and sweets. Nature changes
its clothing and people do the same. Azeri people clean and
decorate houses, yards, streets, and squares, it is time for charity
too. People make khonchas and give them to the needy people.
There is always pakhlava, shakarbura, gogal, sweets, cookies, nuts,
dry fruit, raisins, and a big samani in the middle of khonchas.
Candles around khonchas burn and and lighten them. Spring
Maiden comes on 21st March. She wears a national costume. She
travels on a phayton with horses. Spring Maiden decorates her
phayton with flowers, red ribbons and bells. There‘s a show with
ǁ
Kosa
ǁ
and 
―
kechal (the bald)
ǁ
. They take part at Novruz
celebrations too. The look very funny in their costumes. They
make people laugh at their tricks. And they ask for treats.
We sent greeting cards to our relatives. We also visit our
grandfathers and grandmothers. We congratulate everybody and
say 
―
I wish you a Happy Holiday
ǁ
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