From screens to streets: TikTok brings Novruz traditions to global audience

TikTok, the leading platform for creating and watching short videos, has announced the results of the first-ever #Novruz2025 online festival held in Azerbaijan.

This initiative attracted great interest among platform users: more than 12,000 videos were created with the project hashtag. TikTok also announced the winners of the competition: the authors of the best videos received valuable gifts.

Notably, the online festival held on TikTok took place with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

For two years now, TikTok has been implementing initiatives in Azerbaijan aimed at promoting local culture and educational content. Azerbaijan's rich cultural heritage has become a source of inspiration for many content creators and organizations in the country. They prepare unique and engaging videos that are interesting for both local and international audiences.

Among TikTok’s previous initiatives in this direction, the cultural project “Night at the Museums” holds a special place. Within the project, 10 leading museums of the country organized live broadcasts, giving users the opportunity to join virtual tours, travel through the world of art, and get more detailed information about the exhibits preserved in Azerbaijan’s museums without leaving home. In addition, TikTok also presented the “Literary Living Room” project. Within this project, poetry readings were held on the platform together with museums of famous Azerbaijani literary figures. One of TikTok’s largest-scale projects was the #LearnOnTikTok initiative. This project brought together 22 cultural institutions of Azerbaijan. The project included 14 theaters, 6 museums, the National Library of Azerbaijan, and the “Icherisheher” State Historical-Architectural Reserve.

#Novruz2025 on TikTok

For the first time this year, the platform celebrated the arrival of spring and the Novruz holiday together with users in Azerbaijan. On this occasion, TikTok became the main platform where a large-scale online holiday festival was held. Within the hashtag #Novruz2025, users created more than 12,000 videos showing how they prepared for the holiday and how they celebrated it, sharing recipes related to the holiday table and showcasing the beauty of the rich traditions of their country.

Holiday recipes

National culinary traditions have an important place during the Novruz holiday. Users shared recipes of their favorite national dishes and sweets, such as shekerbura, pakhlava, and plov, and also showed how to set a beautiful and rich table for guests. All of this carries deep cultural meaning and symbolizes prosperity and strong health.

Novruz with Your Loved Ones

It is important to spend time with family and loved ones during the holiday. Users from different parts of Azerbaijan showed how they celebrated their favorite holiday in the warm circle of family and friends. For some, it was even their first Novruz.

National Music and Dances

One of the main aspects of Novruz is its music. During the holiday, national melodies sounded even louder on TikTok: users created videos with Azerbaijani national music, shared reports from musical performances in the streets of the city, and shared the holiday atmosphere with each other.

National Fashion

One of the striking trends of the festival was the increased interest in national fashion. Users actively recreated national clothing, presented modern interpretations of traditional outfits, wore these clothes while walking around the city during the holiday, and demonstrated the connection between generations and respect for cultural heritage.

Folk Festivities

The platform became colorful thanks to folk festivities. Thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the arrival of spring, tasted national dishes, participated in various activities, and shared the holiday spirit on TikTok.

Art and Traditions

Artists and craftsmen on TikTok dedicated their works to the holiday. They created drawings and handicrafts inspired by Azerbaijani culture and traditional Novruz elements.

The Power of Fire

Fire is the symbol of Novruz, representing warmth, renewal, and the triumph of light over darkness. TikTok users shared moments of gathering around bonfires in Azerbaijan and performing inspiring dances. It is believed that these traditional Novruz rituals cleanse the soul and bring success in the coming year.

Authors of most creative videos about Novruz announced

Among all users who participated in the project, the authors of the most creative videos were selected. The winners received gifts presented by the project’s partner — the resort town Sea Breeze:

• 1st place: User @chinivibess Chinara Akhundova and @aydankhalilzada Aydan Khalilzada. They won with a beautiful video in the format of a city walk, in which they shared the holiday atmosphere and showcased the beauty of national traditions and clothing. As a prize, the content creators were awarded 2 fan zone tickets for all days of the DREAM Fest 2025 festival.

• 2nd place: Artist Firuza Imanova @firca.darbesi presented a video showing the process of creating a painting inspired by Novruz and its traditional elements. As a prize, Firuza won a voucher for a 2-night stay in an apartment at Sea Breeze Resort on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

• 3rd place: The author of the channel @food_channel, Rahima Yusunova created a video that presented the process of making pakhlava in a detailed and aesthetic way. As a prize, the author received a 6-month membership card to one of the Crocus fitness clubs located in Baku.

As mentioned, the online festival held on TikTok took place with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On this occasion, the advisor to the Minister of Culture, Jahangir Selimkhanov, was also invited to the event. In his speech, the advisor spoke about TikTok’s exceptional role in introducing our culture to the world and preserving it. He also expressed satisfaction with the high-level implementation of this initiative.

“We are very pleased with how beautifully the #Novruz2025 online festival on TikTok was held. It is commendable that everyone celebrated Novruz with such love and creativity, and shared our traditions in such a joyful and lively way. This is like a big, cheerful family holiday, and it is a real pride that our culture is being kept alive with such a beautiful initiative!” — said Jahangir Selimkhanov, advisor to the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Among the participants of the event was also Melis Ça?lar, TikTok’s Head of Operations in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. She said that she celebrated Novruz with TikTok users in Azerbaijan and enjoyed the richness of Azerbaijani culture.

“This year, we celebrated Novruz for the first time together with our users in Azerbaijan and became a bright, colorful platform for the online festival. We thank our users for filling TikTok with all the colors, melodies, delicious dishes, dances, and great moods of the holiday! Thanks to you, people from all around the world were able to get a closer look at how beautiful and unique Azerbaijani culture is,” said Melis Ça?lar, Head of Operations for TikTok in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia.