As even the google icon greeted me this morning, over coffee and shekerbura from last night, I can see the sun and feel the air outside, and I know it's spring.
Not to mention I had a wild Novruz eve yesterday.
So Novruz is this holiday in Azerbaijan that is essentially treated as their new year, because it is the beginning of spring, and so, it feels like a new year! The holiday has Zoroastrian roots, though some people here will tell you it's a Muslim holiday, so it's celebrated in Iran too...though I'm not sure how many other countries. I say, the holiday is a bizarre mix between Halloween and Easter.
The buildup starts four weeks before (a little reminiscent of lent), and each Tuesday is a celebration of the four elements, Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Depending on how traditional the family is, there may or may not be feasts and such on each of these nights.
March 19th/20th is when all the fun begins. On the 19th, after a great city celebration and picnic in the park, Mom and I were sitting innocently on the couch in our pj's watching 30 Rock when I hear a knock on the door and, "papoglari doldurun!" Translated to: Fill the hats. This little tradition is like ding/dong/ditch meets Trick or Treat. Kids run around the neighborhood with hats, throw them at the door, shout, "fill the hats" and then run and hide. The homeowner fills the hats with candy and sweets (yup, they put the buttery syrupy sweets right into the hat), and then closes the door. The kids run back to retrieve their sticky hats and goodies, and then move on to the next house. We were bombed by Jake and some of my students, and then later some rather greedy neighbors...
The 20th was the day I was most looking forward to. The 20th is technically Novruz Eve. We headed out to a village where my counterpart's family lives, to spend the day with her mother, sister, and brother, and their families. We arrive at the family's house for tea, bread fresh from the tendir, and some great paklava (it's like Turkish or Greek baklava, only no phyllo dough. It's just heavy cookie dough. It's basically a meal at a time), and then head to her sister's house for a big feast. Rice with pumpkin, grape leaf dolma, maxara (crepes...sooo good), fish, chicken, salad, you name it, it was on the table. We were so full by the end of it, my counterpart even had to lie down and rest!
Evening is when the place really comes alive, and that's when we started our fun. After yet another meal (stuffed cabbage, more rice, more fresh bread), we went outside to the bonfire. Here, you must jump over the bonfire three times saying, "agirlarim, ugurlarim, kecmis ilde galsin." Translated (roughly) to: My ills and misfortunes, let them stay in the past year. The idea is, by jumping over the fire, all the evils of your past year will burn in the fire, and the new year will be full of health and prosperity. Nana had been feeling ill all day, but even she mustered up the strength to jump over the fire three times! (Oh yeah, you must jump three times. Even numbers are bad luck. Three is just a good idea). When I jumped, my counterpart's 2 year old started laughing hysterically. According to my superstitious CP, that means there will be a baby in the new year for me. Great.
After that, we took our hats (by we I mean me, my mom, my 27 yr old counterpart and her older brother) and headed to houses. The sky was clear, and showed more stars than I'd ever seen, and the road was full of families and their bonfires. The first thing we did, was listen at the houses. What you do, is you "dream something" (as my CP says...as if it is so easy), then plug your ears, and run up to the house. Crouching under a window, take your fingers out of your ears and listen. What you hear, is the answer to your dream. The first time I heard laughter, the second time the number 16, and the third time (roughly translated), "If she wants, I will give." That's only the beginning of the magical fun...Then, we leave our hats at the door, my CP disguising her voice like a child, "fill the hats!" Mom and I came home with so much loot, it really did feel like Halloween.
What always happens when I go to throw hats, is inevitably we get to a neighbor or someone we know, and get found out. This time we were standing around the other side of the house, when I look up and see out the dark window my friend's mom laughing at us. So of course, we're invited in.
Another big part of Novruz traditions is young girls predicting their marriage future. We're used to slipping things under your pillow or playing MASH, but these are pretty fun. Because I was the only unmarried girl in the group, I got to be the guinea pig. First, you take a tea cup, and fill it 2/3rds with water. Then, a strand of your hair, and an engagement ring (I used my mom's.) A wise old woman (my friend's mom) will hang the ring from the hair, and dip it into the water three times. Then, she will say something that sounds like she's summoning the spirits, and the ring will start to swing. Once it begins to hit the glass, you count how many times it will "ting!" on the side of the glass. The woman did this for me TWICE, and both times counted 25. I'm 25 now. Marriage is not in my life plan yet.
Then, of course, with the ring still hanging, she says to me, "is there a boy in mind?" I shrug, just to see where she goes next. My CP explains, "If you have a boy in mind, she will ask the ring if you will marry him. If the ring spins in a circle, you will marry him. If it sways back and forth, you will marry someone else." Well, the ring went in a circle. Which is strangely NOT what it did when it was clinking on the side of the glass and said I'd get married at 25, so that was weird.
After all the predicting, it was about time to head home. Mom and I had to hop a taxi back to the city, and it was getting pretty late. But not after one last little bit of fun. My counterpart made me what I will just call a salty pancake (1 tsp flour, 1 tsp salt, and some water) and cooked it on the heater. She told me to eat it right before bed, but not to drink any water. She said in my dreams, my future husband would come to me and give me water. Hey, what the heck? I figured. The pancake was as disgusting as anticipated, and I choked it down much to the delight of the family.
It was time for goodbyes, and you could see how much fun they all had having us there. We were on our way out, when I feel someone petting my head. Turns out, if a pregnant woman (my CP's sister-in-law), pets your head three times with her right hand, it is good luck and you will be pregnant. Hopefully not any time soon, I said! All this Azeri magic had me a little freaked out already. We headed home, and I waited to dream.
According to all this Novruz, I'll marry my love at 25, have a baby, and I don't need a man to bring me water because I'll just find it myself (thanks dreams!). That's all the independent American woman could muster when she's up against Azeri mysticism.
Then comes the annoying part...rolling out the dough. Starting with a small ball of dough, begin to roll it out, as thin as you can. Azeri women are pros at this, and I will never understand how they do it so quickly. I've tried multiple times with my Azeri friends, and usually get laughed at and pushed out of the way because I'm so slow. But this time, I was able to finally get it to the thin, papery consistency it should be!
Lay them out on a floured pan until you are ready to boil them.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and drop them in. They'll float when they are finished, and the dough will become slightly transparent, allowing you to see the colors of the filling inside. It really makes a rather pretty dish...
Enjoy with your favorite sauce. I prefer either the suzme (it's kind of like a sour cream/cream cheese type topping) or the pomegranate sauce. Delish!