Public holidays & days off
Holidays in Azerbaijan
Holidays in Georgia →Azerbaijan is a secular state, so its holiday calendar mixes national days — independence, victory, flag and constitution — with two Islamic feasts (Ramazan and Gurban Bayramı, whose dates move each year with the lunar calendar) and, above all, Novruz: the ancient Zoroastrian spring festival that is by far the most important holiday of the year.
During Novruz (around 20–24 March) the whole country takes roughly a week off — Baku quietens as families travel home, streets fill with bonfires to jump over, and tables groan with pakhlava, shakarbura and sprouting wheat “samani.” On the two Bayram feasts and the national days, banks and offices close but hotels, restaurants and sights in Baku stay open.
Two days off to see in the new year — fireworks over the Caspian and family gatherings.
A solemn day of mourning for those killed in Baku in January 1990; the nation falls silent and visits the Alley of Martyrs.
A public holiday honouring women, marked with flowers and gifts.
The spring festival and the biggest holiday of the year — five official days of bonfires, sweets, sprouting samani and family visits. Book everything well ahead.
Marks the end of WWII in Europe; wreath-laying and remembrance.
Celebrates the 1918 founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic — the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world.
Marks Heydar Aliyev’s return to power in 1993, seen as a turning point for the modern state.
Honours the founding of the national army; military displays and ceremonies.
Two days off marking the end of the Ramadan fast; dates shift each year with the Islamic lunar calendar.
The Feast of Sacrifice — two days off; a time of charity and family meals. Dates move each year.
Marks the end of the 2020 Karabakh conflict — a national day of celebration and remembrance.
Honours the national flag, first raised over the world’s tallest flagpole in Baku.
Marks the adoption of the 1995 constitution of independent Azerbaijan.
Commemorates the 1988 pro-independence rallies on Baku’s Azadlıq (Freedom) Square.
Celebrates the worldwide Azerbaijani diaspora, on the eve of New Year.