Spring is on the way.
Yesterday was the Last Tuesday. What is the Last Tuesday? Well, it is the last Tuesday before Novruz Bayram. What is Novruz Bayram? Hmmm, this is literally the Spring Holiday. Or, lets say, this is the New Year Holiday. Below is what our HR sent to us today.
According to the old pagan tradition the New Year for Azerbaijanians starts with Spring equinox.
People raise wheat (samani ), make plov, traditional cookies and sweets, burn holiday candles, make wishes, and forgive past offences and wrongdoings.
Azerbaijan is called the Land of Fire; in some Azerbaijan regions you can watch how the fire comes right from the earth. Tradition calls for one to make a wish and jump over the fire.
Kids may knock on your door and leave an empty hat in front of it; one then puts sweets, candies and fruits in the hat.
Well, this is basically true. So, the 20-21st of March are holidays. Nice. Will eat sweets and make wishes.
Further you can read some explanation for the specific food for the holiday.
Plov (Ash) is pilaw but it is different from the Hindu one. NO curry, a lot of dried fruits and meat (preferably mutton), a lot of butter and gazmag (hard to explain something like shortbread, but salty and with rice). Of cause there a lot of sorts of the Plov, but on the picture you can see my favourite one :).
Pahlava one of my favourite sweets. Basically, it is a cake from the short pastry with nut filling and steeped in the mixture of butter and honey.
Shakerbura kind of pie (again) from the short pastry with (again) nut filling, but this time no honey and butter only a quaint pattern on the top (believe me completely different taste).
Gohal a salty dainty. Good with sweet tea.
There a lot of others but these ones are the major.
PS on the first picture is Samani it is not food it is a symbol of the Spring, literally a raised wheat.