2024-03-11 22:36:16
Soon one of the most ancient, beloved and cheerful holidays in Azerbaijan will come – Novruz Bayram, which incorporates the traditional values of our people.
On September 30, 2009, Novruz was included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and since that time, March 21 has been declared as International Nowruz Day.
In fact, preparations for the Novruz holiday begin a month before the holiday itself. After all, the awakening of nature begins precisely with Novruz, and the Azerbaijani people celebrate it very solemnly and festively, observing rituals and traditions. According to folk tales, Novruz is preceded by four Tuesdays (in Azerbaijani – “chershenbe akhshamy”, but usually called “chershenbe”), each of which is dedicated to the awakening of one of the natural elements. So, on Tuesdays of each week, Su, Od, Yale and Torpag are celebrated (or called Ahyr Chershenbe – respectively, Tuesdays of Water, Fire, Wind and Earth (or called the Last, pre-holiday). The awakening of these elements of nature heralds the arrival of the fifth, main element, a new bright one day – Novruz, the beginning of revival and complete revitalization of the earth.
Do you know why Tuesdays are celebrated before Nowruz? According to legend, which is also reflected in the sacred scriptures, the Almighty created the world in a week, and the creation of the world itself began on the second day. Therefore, in Turkic mythology, Tuesday was considered a sacred day.
Today we celebrate “Yale Chershenbesi”.
Since ancient times, Azerbaijanis solemnly celebrated “Yel Chershenbesi” (Yel çərşənbəsi). According to legends, on this day the wind sets in motion the water and fire that awakened before it, opens the buds of trees, and spring comes into its own. The sun’s rays warm the air, and preparations for spring field work begin in the villages.
People also call this day “Külək oyadan çərşənbə” (Tuesday of the Awakening of the Winds), or “Küləkli çərşənbə” (Windy Tuesday). In ancient times, housewives ventilated the house and took out the bed to air: mattresses, pillows, quilts, beat out carpets, shook out rugs. The housing seemed to be filled with clean air and the refreshing breath of the approaching spring.
On this day, it is customary to cook pilaf with milk (südlü plov) or crumbly bulgur pilaf. In fact, these dishes are not only tasty, but also so light and “airy” that they are the perfect treat for the Yale Chershenbesi holiday. And of course, on the table there should be an abundance of dried fruits and various desserts made from grain, in particular, “halvasa seed” – halva made from the juice of sprouted wheat grains. On this day, a red ribbon is tied to a seed that has already grown an inch.
Our ancestors said “You cannot scold the wind” (Yel əsdirəni söyməzlər), which in those distant times was associated with the cult of the wind, which personified the air that accompanies a person throughout his life – from the first to the last breath.
According to beliefs, on the day of “Yel Chershenbesi” all four winds: ag-yel, gara-yel, khazri and gilavar break free from the “black jug”. Each of the winds is dressed in clothes of a certain color: ag-yel (white wind) – in white, gara-yel (black wind) – in black, khazri (north wind) – in blue, gilavar (south wind) – in red.
“Yel Baba” (Father of the Winds), who is reflected in folklore as a very old man, was considered the personification of the powerful air element. This mythical old man helped lost travelers find their way home. To do this, he sent travelers lost in the forest a ball, which unraveled from its blows and led straight to the house with a thread.
And the main ritual of this day, of course, is bonfires, which must be lit in all yards, because according to ancient beliefs, fire takes away all last year’s misfortunes. By jumping over the fire, we seem to transfer all troubles, misfortunes and disappointments to the fire – a symbolic ritual of purification before Novruz. Under no circumstances should you pour water on a fire. After the fire goes out, the ashes are collected and scattered around the surrounding area – this is how we show that all our troubles have been scattered to the wind.
By the way, this day is symbolic with our capital. After all, Baku is called the “City of Winds”. The name Baku, according to different versions, is also associated with both fire and wind. Atshi-Baguan – according to one version – is the ancient name of the city, which roughly means – the Lights of Baguan (this is what the Zoroastrians, pagan tribes living on the Absheron Peninsula, called Baku). Later sources talk about the name Badi – Kyuba, meaning from ancient Persian “City of the Winds”, and literally translated – “Strike of the Wind”. The winds really blow constantly in our city…