Azerbaijan marks New Year
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan is celebrating one of the favorite holidays of people all around the world: the New Year.
Bright Christmas trees of unimaginable sizes have decorated Azerbaijan's capital, and brought a sense of delight not only to young children, but also to adults.
Azerbaijan is celebrating the New Year with colorful performances, concerts, contests, and parties that last through the night. Some people prefer to celebrate this day with their family, some people in the company of friends, and some others like to rough it on a mountain top.
On this day, people forgive old grudges, and even the most desperate pessimists find hope for a better future.
The history of this holiday goes back to ancient times.
The earliest recorded festivities in honor of the New Year's arrival go back to 4,000 years ago, to the ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox -the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness- announced the start of a new year.
Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed increasingly sophisticated calendars, typically pinning the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event.
In Egypt, for instance, the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile, which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius. The first day of the Chinese New Year, meanwhile, occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice.
With the expansion of Western culture to many other places in the world during recent centuries, the Gregorian calendar has been adopted by many other countries as the official calendar, and the 1 January date of New Year has become global, even in countries with their own New Year celebrations on other days (such as Israel, China, and India).
New Year is a magical holiday, being looked forward to by both adults and children. Regardless of one's religion, language, or culture, people all around the world hope for good luck and happiness, and celebrate this holiday -every nation by their own traditions.
However, the most important thing is that this holiday gives everyone hope for a bright future and fulfillment of one's cherished desires. On this day, people forget their worries and concerns, and enjoy the festive and magical moments of the New Year's Eve.
Happy Holidays!