Will Nakhichevan ban food, drinks for wedding guests?

JAMnews

Baku

Recently, the Azerbaijani segment of social media has been actively discussing the decision made in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic where serving food or drinks at weddings may be banned. From July 1, 2021, when wedding ceremonies will be allowed to be held in Azerbaijan, in Nakhichevan it will be prohibited to treat guests with all kinds of food and drinks, except for tea and sweets. They rushed to refute this message, but the refutation did not touch provide an explanation about the ban on food and drinks.

Ban on catering at funerals

A few years earlier, in order to stop the wastefulness of the Nakhichevan authorities, a ban on all types of food and non-alcoholic drinks, except for halva, tea and sugar were banned from being served at the memorial service. It was reported that this decision was made by the leader of the autonomous republic – the chairman of the parliament of the Nakhichevan AR Vasif Talibov.

This decision found support among the population and other regions of Azerbaijan, and soon people themselves began to adhere to these rules.

Nowadays, it is very rare to see fruits and expensive non-alcoholic drinks on the tables at a commemoration in Azerbaijan.

Removal of the ban on weddings

Since March 2020, wedding ceremonies have been banned in Azerbaijan due to the coronavirus pandemic. This ban which lasted 16 months, will be lifted from July 1, 2021.

According to the decision of the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, from August 1, all wedding guests with a maximum of 150 people must have a Covid passport.

In the period from July 1 to August 1, 2021, persons who have been vaccinated with one dose of the coronavirus vaccine are also allowed to attend weddings.

Ban on weddings in Nakhichevan

After wedding ceremonies were allowed in the country, information appeared on news sites and social media that it would be forbidden in Nakhichevan to treat guests at weddings with all types of food and drinks, except for tea and sweets.

The news was met with controversy by politicians and social media users.

“They say that Vasif Talibov forbade serving anything except tea and sweets at weddings. I read the statuses and comments supporting such a decision.

Yes, there may be shortcomings and unpleasant moments in our traditions. Including profligacy at weddings. But the intervention of the state in itself is very much more terrible. This is how totalitarianism is born. More precisely, it is born from the fact that people begin to support “good prohibitions”. Freedom is not only the freedom of pleasant and useful actions. This is also the freedom of unpleasant (but not infringing on the rights of others) actions, including waste”, wrote politician Yadigar Sadigly.

“If they remove the music, then consider that you have come to the bride and groom’s memorial service”, one of the social media users said.

Authorities refuting alleged prohibition

On June 28, Azerbaijani news sites issued a refute of the wedding ban report, citing the Nukhchykhan news agency in Nazijevan. The message says that the information about the ban on food and drinks at weddings is not true.

“According to the rules of the pandemic adopted throughout the country, from July 1, 2021, based on the current requirements, weddings and other family holidays will be held in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic according to the existing rules”, the refutation says.

It is interesting that the agency operating in Nakhichevan disseminated this information with reference to the official representation of the autonomous republic in Baku. in other words, official sources in Nakhichevan itself did not express their attitude to what was happening.

On the other hand, the text of the rebuttal notes that weddings will be held taking into account the rules of the pandemic period, but nothing is said about the actual ban on food and drinks.