USAN congratulates all Azerbaijani-Americans with Novruz Bayram (Nowruz, Nevruz), welcomes Obama/Clinton Novruz statement to Azerbaijani people
Dear Azerbaijani-Americans,
The entire Board of Directors of the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) is happy to congratulate you with our New Year – the Novruz Bayram! We are happy to note that annual celebrations will take place in all metropolitan areas of the United States, and hope all of our friends join the festivities. Thousands of copies of the USAN's Novruz letter has also been sent over the years (http://Novruz.USAzeris.org)
All of the estimated 400,000 Azerbaijani-Americans are celebrating the Nowruz Bayram (Ergenekon Bayrami), as it has a very special significance to us, both as the beginning of Spring (vernal equinox), a celebrated time in many cultures, particularly Turkic and Iranian, and as being linked to prophet Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrian religion, which emphasized fire worshipping. Azerbaijan, truly a land of fire (Odlar Yurdu), with its numerous fire temples, preserved to this day, is believed to have played the most important role in the foundation of Zoroastrianism as the world's first monotheistic religion.
Meanwhile, all Turkic people from Caucasus to Central Asia and beyond celebrate Nowruz and the coming of the Spring - a wonderful tradition going back several millenniums. Novruz (Nevruz) generally falls around March 21, corresponding to the vernal equinox, when the day and night are of equal length. Novruz is an official holiday in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and a public holiday in Turkey. Other Turkic peoples such as Uyghurs, Yakuts, Karakalpaks, Volga or Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs and Crimean Tatars also participate in spring celebrations.
Throughout the Turkic world, the arrival of spring is celebrated under different names: Navruz, Navriz, Novruz, Nooruz, Noruz, Sultan Nevruz, Mart Dokuzu (Ninth of March, corresponding to the vernal equinox in Rumi calendar), Yil Basi (New Year), Yeni Gün (New Day), Ulusun Ulu Günü (Great Day of the Nation) and Ergenekon Bayrami (Ergenekon Holiday). In the pre-Islamic Turkic calendar, the Twelve Animal Calendar, the new year began in March. Hence the association of Novruz with the New Year. Novruz is also regarded by some Turkic groups as a celebration of independence, a tradition rooted in the Ergenekon Destan (Epic). According to it, the forefathers of the Turkic people managed to set themselves free on the day of Novruz and left the valley named Ergenekon.
Thus, the most important significance of Nowruz, irrespective of its undoubtedly ancient origins, is the celebration of Spring, of a New Year, new beginnings and re-birth.
As such, every year for the past three years, we urged the Administration and Congress to properly recognize Novruz and congratulate all Azerbaijanis, as well as the wider Turkic community, with our New Year (http://Novruz.USAzeris.org). Thus, we welcome Secretary Clinton’s statement today, on behalf of President Obama, to the Azerbaijani people, which we reproduce below.
Once again, happy Novruz Bayrami, peace and happiness to you and your family!
On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I offer warm wishes to the people of Azerbaijan as you celebrate Novruz and begin a new season of promise and possibility. This ancient holiday is an opportunity to honor your rich traditions and vibrant heritage. Families and friends across Azerbaijan and throughout the region will gather to rekindle old ties and make plans for the future. This is a time to celebrate good fortune, to remember those in need, and to welcome the renewal of spring.
Let us take this opportunity to redouble our efforts to promote mutual understanding and respect. Working together, we can meet the common challenges and seize the shared opportunities of this new season and this still new century.
May Novruz bring peace and happiness to all of you. Bayraminiz Mubarek!
