When is Azerbaijani Flag Day?
Flag Day is a national holiday in Azerbaijan. It is celebrated on November 9th each year. If November 9th falls on a weekend, then the following Monday will be a holiday.
History of Azerbaijani Flag Day
The Azerbaijani Democratic Republic adopted the Azerbaijani tricolour as the national flag of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on November 9th 1918.
The flag was flown until 1920 when Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union. It wasn't until 1991, and the break up of the Soviet Union, that the Azerbaijani flag flew once again when the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan Republic announced a tricolour flag with a star and a crescent as the national flag of Azerbaijan on February 5th 1991.
The state flag is a symbol of Azerbaijan's national sovereignty and to highlight its importance to Azerbaijan, on November 17th 2009, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to declare November 9th as National Flag Day and a legal holiday.
To honour the flag, the National Flag Square in Baku was officially opened by President Ilham Aliyev on September 1st 2010.
Each year on November 9th, hundreds of people gather in the National Flag Square to watch a ceremony to raise Azerbaijan`s tricolour as the country marks National Flag Day. Confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records, the tricolour flies on the tallest flagpole in the world. The flag itself measures 70 meters high by 35 meters wide and weighs 350 kg.
Flag of Azerbaijan
The flag of Azerbaijan consists of three equal horizontal bands of blue, red, and green. In the centre red band, there is a white crescent and an eight-pointed star. Blue represents Azerbaijan's Turkic heritage, red symbolises progress, and the green represents Islam.
The design and dimensions of the flag are actually included in the constitution of Azerbaijan:
State flag of the Azerbaijan Republic consists of three horizontal stripes of same width. Upper stripe is blue, middle stripe is red, and the lower one is green; in the middle of red stripe on both sides of the flag white crescent with eight-pointed star are depicted. Width of the flag constitutes half of its length.
Article 23.II of the Constitution
