Novruz · Day 1

The First Day of Novruz begins Azerbaijan's five-day spring holiday at the equinox. It joins the idea of a new year with the return of light, greenery and social renewal. UNESCO recognises Nowruz as shared intangible cultural heritage across a broad region, but the Azerbaijani celebration has its own textures: family preparation, neighbourhood visiting, music, food and the four pre-holiday Tuesdays associated with water, fire, wind and earth.

Azerbaijan's Labour Code gives Novruz five non-working days, an unusually generous public pause for a festival that is both intimate and civic. Homes are readied for guests, tables are set with sweets and sprouting samani wheat, and communities gather around bonfires and public festivities. The holiday has religious and pre-Islamic layers, but it is above all a living cultural season shared across generations.

Article 105 makes this full day 1 of the five-day Novruz non-working period. The Cabinet sets the dates annually; for 2026 it confirms March 20–24. Weekend collisions and overlaps with another non-working holiday create additional rest days after the sequence, while Cabinet decisions may also swap workdays. In 2026 Novruz overlaps Ramadan on March 20–21, and the official production calendar—not a generic substitute algorithm—lists the resulting March rest days for five- and six-day schedules.