| Holiday Name: | International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis Dünya Azərbaycanlılarının Həmrəyliyi Günü |
| Observedby: | Azerbaijani people[1] [2] |
| Type: | public holiday |
| Date: | 31 December |
| Scheduling: | same day each year |
| Frequency: | annual |
| Duration: | 1 day |
International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis (az|Dünya Azərbaycanlılarının Həmrəyliyi Günü) is an annual public holiday in Azerbaijan celebrating the worldwide solidarity and unity of Azerbaijanis.[3] The day was inspired by the dismantling of border fences between Soviet Azerbaijan and Iran in December 1989 and the collapse of the Berlin Wall[4] in the same year.
In 1989 the local residents took down the Soviet–Iranian border in then-Nakhichevan ASSR to reunite with Iranian Azerbaijanis.[5] On the same day, the first World Congress of Azerbaijanis took place in Istanbul.
The day was first promoted on 16 December 1991 by then-Chairman of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Supreme Assembly Heydar Aliyev. The various governments that have been in power since Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union have all marked that day.[6] Aliyev raised the issue before the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR to declare that date a holiday at state level. The holiday eventually gained a state status in 1992, with Abulfaz Elchibey's presidential decree.
The day was entered into the Labor Code of Azerbaijan as a non-working day,[7] coinciding with New Year's Eve, and is celebrated by Azerbaijani diaspora across the world.