DUSHANBE, March 16, 2011, Asia-Plus — By president’s order a symbol of the International Navrouz Holiday has been created and endorsed in Tajikistan, according to the presidential press service.
When creating the symbol, the authors have taken into account opinions of specialists in nature and astronomy.
The symbol features two of the four cardinal directions – West and East, sun breams, nature’s awakening as well ass Tajik flag and national emblem, the presidential press service said.
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. 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.
In September 2009, the UN”s cultural agency, UNESCO, included Navrouz in its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On February 23, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Navrouz.
