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DUSHANBE, March 27, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Iran is hosting the first ever international celebration of Navrouz.

The event, which was recently registered by the UN General Assembly as the International Day of Nowruz (In Tajik Navrouz), began at Sa’dabad Cultural Complex in Tehran Saturday morning and the presidents of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iraq are participating in this event.

Speaking at this international ceremony to celebrate the ancient ritual of Navrouz, which marks the beginning of new year in Iran and a number of regional countries including Iraq, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, President Rahmon said registration of Navrouz as an international event was a big victory because it happened at a time when some regional countries were facing grave dangers, Iran’s news agency IRNA reported.

Pointing to the six-thousand-year-old history of Navrouz as a sacred occasion, he said Navrouz rituals entailed messages of unity, clarity, sincerity and beauty.

He said Navrouz was celebrated as a national occasion of festivity in his country as well and was honored as a valuable cultural heritage by the nation.

Referring to epical stories which associate Navrouz with Jamshid who was a mythical King of Iran, the Tajik president suggested that the New Year celebrations be held in Persepolis in southern Iran which is considered to be the cradle of Navrouz.

Tomorrow, the presidents will also attend the celebrations in southern Iranian city of Shiraz (Fars Province).

Navrouz, which literary means New Day in Persian, Dari and Tajik languages, is the traditional Iranian new year holiday celebrated by Iranian and many other peoples.  It marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (the start of spring in the northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.

The term Navrouz first appeared in Persian records in the second century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (648-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian Empire used to bring gifts to the emperor (Shahanshah) of Persia on Navrouz.

Today, the festival of Navrouz is celebrated in many countries, including Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, as well as Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.  Many peoples in West and South Asia, Northeast China, the Crimea, as well as Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia also celebrate this holiday.

On February 23, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz (In Tajik Navrouz).  The Assembly called on member nations 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.