5 min read · Updated February 2026 · Festivals
Novruz (meaning "New Day") is the Persian New Year and spring equinox festival, celebrated on 20–21 March across Azerbaijan, Iran, Central Asia, and parts of the broader Turkic world. In Azerbaijan it is the most important holiday of the year — a two-week celebration that fills the streets with fire, music, colour, and an extraordinary variety of traditional foods.
The four Tuesdays before Novruz are each dedicated to one of the four elements — water, fire, earth, and wind — and each Tuesday night sees bonfires lit across Azerbaijan. Jumping over the fire is a ritual that purifies and brings luck for the new year. The final Tuesday (Fire Tuesday / Şam Çərşənbəsi) is the most spectacular, with bonfires everywhere from village squares to city car parks to garden courtyards.
Visiting Azerbaijan during Novruz is one of the most memorable travel experiences in the Caucasus. The atmosphere is electric, locals are enormously welcoming to visitors who share in the celebrations, and the food prepared for Novruz — pakhlava, shekerbura, gogal pastries — is outstanding.