Azerbaijan is celebrating Fire Tuesday today, the second Tuesday before the Novruz spring holiday. The first day of the ancient holiday of Novruz falls on the spring equinox, 20 or 21 March, the day when the hours of daylight approximately equal those of darkness. The holiday heralds the arrival of spring and marks the start of a new year. Od chershenbesi, or Fire Tuesday, honours fire, the second element in the creation of the world. Ancient legends associate fire with the Sun, light and day. It used to be called Dan or Tan and to this day dan means dawn in Azerbaijani.