Various customs have been formed related to this spring feast, celebrated under various names and as Nevruz more extensively. We can find these customs from Central Asia to the Turks in Balkans and even among Indians of America. It is stated that among Kirghiz Turks, the day of Nevruz is in the month of March and it means the celebration of the first day of the year. They cook a special meal named "Nouruz Köcö". "Köcö" is some sort of tirit (toast soaked in unthickened meat gravy/sugary syrup) including maize and bulgur.
Kazakh Turks also cook the meal cooked by the Kirghiz Turks. Also they have Mevlit (the night of the birth of Prophet Mohammed) cited in Nevruz ceremonies. The houses are thoroughly cleaned on those days, new dresses are put on. During Nevruz ceremonies, clay pots are thrown on the walls of the house and various goods and the pots are broken. People jump over fires. The tents are founded and lavish tables are spread.
In Semerkand, Buhara, Andican in Uzbekistan (Özbekistan), the ceremonies which start on Nevruz day continue for a week. The people visit the tents during these ceremonies and celebrate each other's Nevruz day. The food served during such visits is rice called "aş". Shows like wrestling, horse races and rooster fights are organized. In Tajikistan, Nevruz is celebrated as of the beginning of the month March until 21st in order to celebrate the oncoming of the spring and the revival of the nature. Of the seven food beginning with the letter Ş (SH), milk represents cleanliness; dessert represents the joy of living; sugar represents the coolness and rest; candle represents worshipping to fire; comb represents the beauty of the women. After the introduction of Islam, 7 objects beginning with "Ş" replaced them according to the Islamic traditions.
In Afghanistan, Nevruz is celebrated as a birthday among Turks. Everybody wears his brand new garment that day. The graves and the relatives are visited, wrestling is performed and kid of a goat game is played. It is believed that the whole year passes in the manner in which the new year is entered. In Turkmenistan, people spend Nevruz day in the manner of religious holidays in our country; mutual house visits are made and congratulation messages are sent. Nevruz celebrations may have a large role in the media bodies. Turkish world have welcomed Nevruz with its colored garments, joyful celebrations and wishes upon which the hopes are rest.
In Azerbaijan, on each 21-23 March, Nevruz feast is celebrated by great ceremonies. Graves are visited. The halva (a sweet prepared with sesame oil, various cereals, and syrup or honey), rice and other food prepared are given to the poor during these celebrations. The traditions of the long years are continued by various motifs and games in the customs of "Gapı Pusma" (Hiding Behind A Door), "Suya Yüzük Atma" (Throwing A Ring in the Water), "Su Başı" (On a Water Bank) and "Baca Baca" (From Chimney to Chimney). Semeni göğertilir meaning the seeds are sprout.
Nevruz is celebrated in with the common joy and traditions that we mentioned under the names Nevruz among Karapapaks, Navrez and gündonümü among Crimean Turks, Mevris among West Thrace Turks, Sultanı Navrız among Macedonian Turks and Turks in Kosova and İlkyaz Bayramı among Gagavuz (Christian Orthodox Turks of the Balkans).
In societies extending over a very large geographical place, it is seen that the following plays are played with no basic difference: Gökböri play. It is the chief play played in Turkmenistan. This play is also called "gökböri, köpkari, oğlak/ulak, buzkasi, kökpar, kükbar". Horse races, jereed play, sword racing, yamba kapma, wrestling, power show on horses, sinsin play, huntu play. These plays are generally based on sports.
Some of the plays are, on the other hand, spectacular. We may evaluate them as folk theater or traditional Turkish folk theater: Koskova play, ekende yoh, biçende yoh, yeyende ortag gardaş play; kış bovay; yolbars; argımak.
Local entertainment is also included in Nevruz feast. The young people compete by citing mani (a traditional Turkish quatrain form) among them. Some of them: halay play, yasil yarpag, gizilgül, hahista, benövse, bahtiyar and atisma. In addition to these games played also in Anatolian field, very joyful celebrations are realized on 21st March. In the past, special paste, sherbet and gifts were prepared and the senior rulers of the state offer them to each other as from the elder to the younger. These customs still continue under the name Mesir Macunu Senlikleri. Yuruk Feast is still celebrated in Anatolia.
Nevruz, which is known under various names such as "Sultanı Nevruz", "Mart Dokuzu" and "Mart Bozumu", still survives among the Turkish society. Among Tahtacı Turkmen, Nevruz feast is the ninth day of old March month and it is called Sultan Nevruz. Nevruz is celebrated when the Tahtacı Turkmen go out to the mountain pastures, on 22-23 March. In Tahtacı Turkmen, Nevruz is accepted as the day when the dead are fed. Here, the ancestor culture of the old Turkish belief system shows itself.
22 March welcomes the day before Nevruz. On this day, preparations are made for Nevruz. The clothes are washed, meals are cooked. Pie with spinach, eggs dyed with onion skin, yufka (very thin sheet of drough), sarı burma, sugar, roasted chickpeas and Turkish delight may be mentioned among the meals consumed on Nevruz day. The food is distributed and it is wished that the food "feed the spirit of the dead". Everybody is happy on this feast. The crimes are forgiven. It is obligatory to participate in the feast. Those who do not attend are excluded by the people of the village.
Among the Yuruks, it is accepted that the winter is over and the spring is beginning with the Nevruz. In villages and on mountain pasture it is celebrated on 22nd March, and in cities it is celebrated on the following Sunday if such date is not Sunday.Those who have settled in "flock houses" previously, act as hosts for their relatives and neighbors from the villages. When the group coming from the village and those on the mountain pasture meet, they shoot once and greet each other saying:"May your Nevruz be joyful and your offspring beneficial and fruitful". The visitors settle in tents and they are offered with offerings. The sacrifice animal sacrificed by the owners of the herds are consumed together. Among the Sunni Yuruks, the people attend the prayers by imams and thank god.
The young people organize feasts, meals are eaten, songs and folksongs are sung, plays are played. The entertainment goes on till late hours. 22 March is called "Sultan Nevruz" in Gaziantep, one of the cities in Southeast Anatolia and surroundings. In Diyarbakır, Nevruz is celebrated by people visiting entertainment and recreation spot places. In Kars and its surroundings, customs like spying on the doors, and from chimney to chimney are observed. People going from chimney to chimney are offered various fruit in the house.
In Tunceli and its surroundings, the men draw black lines on their foreheads and go to the water sources. They clean black lines there and pray. Especially in Central Anatolia Nevruz is known as "Mart Dokuzu". Celebrations similar to the other regions are performed. Among the other traditions in Anatolia in relation with Nevruz, "Mart ipliği" custom, performed by tying a piece of cloth to the tree so that the tree is not hurt, and "Mart Bozumu" custom in Giresun are significant. In Tekirdag, Nevruz is accepted as the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring and celebrated under the name of "Nevruz Senlikleri". It is found that the same traditions continue in Izmir, Usak, Sivas and Sebinkarahisar.
As it is known, the old calendar started in the month of March. The first twelve days of the March represented the twelve months and the things to be done in the year were planned during the first twelve days. It is customary that seven couples of food each starting with the letter "S" are eaten on this day.