{"id":500,"date":"2010-09-21T13:51:28","date_gmt":"2010-09-21T11:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/azconsulate.hip-hop.sk\/"},"modified":"2011-12-16T11:40:29","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T10:40:29","slug":"holidays","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/staging.azconsulate.sk\/en\/useful-information\/holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

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January 1st<\/sup> and 2nd<\/sup> –\u00a0 New Year\u2019s Day
\nMarch 8 \u2013 Women\u2019s Day
\nMay 9 – Victory over Fascism Day
\nMay 28 \u2013Republic Day (Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan in 1918)
\nJune 15 \u2013 Day of National Salvation of the Azerbaijani People
\nJune 26 \u2013 Armed Forces Day
\nOctober 18 \u2013 Day of Independence
\nNovember 12 \u2013 Constitution Day
\nNovember 17 \u2013 National Revival Day
\nDecember 31 \u2013 World Azerbaijanis\u2019 Solidarity Day<\/span><\/p>\n

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Memorial Days<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

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January 20 \u2013 The Day of National mourning (known as Black January)
\nFebruary 26 \u2013 The Khojali Genocide
\nMarch 31 \u2013 Genocide of Azerbaijanis<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Holidays with flexible dates<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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Religious holidays<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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NOVRUZ<\/strong> <\/strong>(Novruz Bayram\u0131 )<\/strong> \u2013 spring holiday \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

This Muslim holiday of welcoming the spring is the celebration of the Iranian New Year. It is connected with big preparations, which start month before the celebration and culminate on 20-24th of March (around March 20, vernal equinox occurs in the northern hemisphere). Celebration includes various rituals (sprouted wheat is grown as a\u00a0symbol of abundance with magic abilities), singing songs, dancing, jumping over the fires, preparations of various traditional meals, painting eggs and visiting relatives. Many of them remind us of Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The historical roots of Novruz Holiday in Azerbaijan go back to the very ancient times – to the 3rd<\/sup> millennium. Besides Azerbaijan, Novruz is celebrated also in Iran, Albania, Afghanistan, Georgia and other countries in the Central Asia. In 2009, Novruz was officially registered in the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
\nIn 2012, it is celebrated on March 20-24 (non-working days!).<\/strong>
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RAMADAN (Ramazan Bayram\u0131)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Traditional religious holiday of the Muslim world is Ramadan. Ramadan is the 9th<\/sup> month of the year in the Islamic lunar calendar. According to the tradition, first verses of the Koran \/Gur\u2019an, the Holy book of Islam, were revealed to the prophet Muhammad that month.<\/span><\/p>\n

During Ramadan, Muslims are fasting for 30 days, from sunrise to sunset. Islamic lunar year is 11-12 days longer than solar year. That is why Ramadan has no fixed date. This year it starts on August 19th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

GURBAN<\/strong> (Qurban Bayram\u0131) <\/strong>\u2013 the holiday of making sacrifice<\/span><\/p>\n

Gurban is Islamic holiday – culminating event of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is celebrated 70 days after Ramadan in the memory of Prophet Ibrahim\u2019s sacrifice to God. The members of a family wear their best dresses and spend time praying and thanksgiving. They immolate a domestic animal (usually a goat or a sheep). This year it is celebrated on October 25-26th<\/sup> (non-working days).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n