There are severalpublic holidays inAzerbaijan. Public holidays were regulated in the constitution of theAzerbaijan SSR for the first time on 19 May 1921. They are now regulated by theConstitution of Azerbaijan.[1]
| Date | English name | Azerbaijani name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 January | New Year's Day | Yeni il | 2 days |
| 20 January | Martyrs' Day | Qara Yanvar | CommemoratesBlack January (1990) whenSoviet troops enteredBaku and killed more than 130 civilians.[2] |
| 8 March | Women's Day | Qadınlar günü | 1 day |
| 20–24 March | Nowruz | Novruz | 5 days |
| 9 May | Victory Day over Fascism | Faşizm üzərinə qələbə günü | In honor of victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany during World War II. |
| 28 May | Independence Day | Müstəqillik Günü | Founding of theDemocratic Republic of Azerbaijan (1918). |
| 15 June | National Salvation Day | Azərbaycan xalqının Milli Qurtuluş günü | Parliament invitedHeydar Aliyev to Baku to lead the country (1993). |
| 26 June | Azerbaijan Armed Forces Day | Azərbaycan Respublikasının Silahlı Qüvvələri günü | Commemorates the founding of theAzerbaijani National Army on this day in 1918. |
| 8 November | Victory Day | Zəfər Günü | Commemorates the Azerbaijani victory in the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war as well as in theBattle of Shusha. It is a non-working day. |
| 9 November | State Flag Day | Dövlət Bayrağı günü | Commemorates the adoption of theFlag of Azerbaijan on November 9, 1918,[3] which was officially established on November 9, 2009, as the State Flag Day.[4] |
| 31 December | International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis | Dünya Azərbaycanlılarının Həmrəyliyi günü | Inspired by the fall of theBerlin Wall, the nationalistPopular Front of Azerbaijan called for and lead the removal of borders between Soviet Azerbaijan andIran on December 31, 1989. This has since been celebrated byAzerbaijanis around the world as the International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis.[5] |
| Changes due to the Islamic lunar calendar | Ramazan Bayram | Ramazan Bayramı | 2 days |
| Changes due to the Islamic lunar calendar | Gurban Bayram | Qurban Bayramı | 2 days |
National days in Azerbaijan that are working days follows:
Only the holidays ofRamadan andQurban remain as non-working religious days in Azerbaijan, as the country is highlysecular and irreligious.[9][10] The religious population of the country, mainly inNardaran and a number of other villages and regions, celebrate theDay of Ashura, a Shia mourning day in theIslamic calendar. Religious minorities of the country – mainlyOrthodox Christians andJews - also celebrate notable religious days of their faith.[11] Despite the fact that the holidayNovruz takes its roots from the religion ofZoroastrianism, almost all Azerbaijanis celebrate it as a holiday of spring.
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