Happy Nowruz everyone!
Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Folk dancers in national costume perform during the festivities. Photograph: Anvar Ilyasov/AP
Today is what people in western culture and the Northern Hemisphere call the spring equinox, but in the east it is known as Nowruz (or as Persian New Year to some). In countries and cultures all across the Middle East and Central Asia, notably Iran, March 21 is Nowruz (or Nawroz in Kurdish, Novruz in Azerbaijani or Norouz or Nauroz or several other variations depending on the region), the ancient festival of the new year that traces its origins to Zoroastrianism. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, Turkey and the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East as well as north-western China. Today it is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year and everything good that it brings.
This year in his message for the International Day of Nowruz U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on people worldwide to “let the spirit of Nowruz prevail.” Nowruz is also inscribed on the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This evening a special concert will be held at the General Assembly Hall at U.N. Headquarters in New York, featuring music, dance, costumes and rituals from the Turkic region, while the U.N. will also hold a tree planting ceremony at a park in Tehran, Iran.
Last year the U.N. General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz. The Assembly called on Member States that celebrate the festival to study its history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events. The text was introduced by Azerbaijan’s representative, who said that, as a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world with themes important to all humanity, Nowruz encouraged intercultural dialogue and understanding.
This year president Barack Obama extended his best wishes to all who celebrate Nowrus in the United States and around the world. Like every year of his presidency to date, Obama marked this holiday by speaking directly to the people of Iran, in particular the Iranian youth. I thought his video address was very moving although it only focused on the Iranians. In his message Obama said, “But the future of Iran will not be shaped by fear. The future of Iran belongs to the young people – the youth who will determine their own destiny. Over 60% of the Iranian people were born after 1979. You are not bound by the chains of the past. […] Instead you – the young people of Iran – carry within you both the ancient greatness of Persian civilization and the power to forge a country that is responsive to your aspirations. Your talent, your hopes and your choices will shape the future of Iran and help light the world. And although times may seem dark, I want you to know that I am with you.”
Watch Barack Obama’s entire Nowruz address.
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Check out these amazing photos of Nowruz celebrations across different countries in the region.
Click here to watch a short video about Nowruz celebrations in Tajikistan.
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