First international celebration of Norooz in Tehran

Hamid Karzai, Imomali Rakhmanov, Gurbaguly Berdimohamedow and Jalal Talabani, presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iraq attended the first international celebration of Norooz in Tehran today.

The ceremony was also attended by foreign ministers of Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as ambassadors of the participating countries and other officials.

Tomorrow the party will visit the city of Shiraz as the next step in their celebration itinerary.

The United Nations officially recognized Norooz as an international festival last February following a collaborative effort by Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Over 300 million people in the Indian subcontinent, Middle East, Caucasus, the Balkans, the Balck Sea Basin, Eastern Africa and other regions celebrate Norooz every year.

In Iran and Afghanistan the calendar in based on Norooz and March 21, the first day of spring is recognized as the first day of the calendar.

Last September Norooz was also added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO recognizing the festival’s “affirmation of life in harmony with nature, the awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and the solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life”.