Novruz Bayram is one of the most ancient and beautiful festivities in Azerbaijan dating back to Zoroaster times. There are lot of legends and fortunetelling related to "Ахыр чершенбе ахшамы" ("Last Tuesday") that precedes Novruz (March 20-21). Many believe that fortunetelling before the dusk at this day is exact and might predict the future. Unmarried girls do not miss an opportunity to find out on this day when and who they will marry.

Fortunetelling is carried out in the evening and a number of procedures are taken.  One of them aimed to make unmarried girls happy is to put ‘black’ coins in the jug of water (black coins symbolize bad luck)at daytime and pour the water with the coins out to a street.  Another tradition is "гулаг фалы" (gulag faly "listening fortunetelling"), though not all remember now that one have to go outside grasping a key in her hand. The most important is the first word you will catch and how you will be able to interpret it. The key in the hand is key to that will open you a way for your wish to come true and the first word that you will hear will help to understand whether that wish will be realized or not. 

Another popular belief: if the girl will eat an apple a night before Novruz and put 10 seeds under the pillow she will see her betrothed in her dream. The other way to see your future spouse in the dream is to eat a salty scone and not to drink a water before sleep. According to beliefs future spouse will give his fiancee to drink.

Engagement ring is hanged with a thread and dropped into the glass of water three times. The ring starts to twist and touch glass walls. The number of times the glass will clang is the age when the girl will get married.

Take white egg and two pencils: black and red. Make your wish and put the egg into a clean place (better use a window sill and open a window leat), with 2 pencils on each side. In the morning one could see lines in the egg – if the lines are red then your wish will come true. 

To find out whether young marrieds will be happy take two needles, wind a cotton bud into dull end of the needles. Put those neddles into the plate with water and start to whirl it. If the needles join each other with cotton ends then marrieds will be happy.

Take two empty glasses and go to your neighbours, let them know in advance about your visit. Having opened the door the neighbor with total silence should fill one of the glasses with water. If that is the glass that you had in your mind and made wish – it will come true for sure.

Take three pieces of dough. Put a button into one of the pieces. Place pieces in different places in your apartment. One piece near doorstep, another on window sill and the third one in the corner. Open each piece in the morning and if the button is in the piece that was near doorstep – then the day of wedding is coming soon; finding it in window sill means engagement, and corner means that nothing is expected this year. 

In the evening unmarried girls hang on their chest some small lock and go outside just before sunset and pronounce: «Come to me my happiness, unlock and free me». 

In the night when all your close in the bed burn in the dark a paper in the plate and direct the light to walls corner. You can see a profession of your beloved one on the wall.

Happy Novruz! And let all the girls will find their family happiness!