DUSHANBE, March 17, 2011, Asia-Plus — This year, Navrouz celebrations will take place at the Navrouzgoh complex in Dushanbe.
A theatrical show staged by People’s Artist of Tajikistan Ubaidullo Rajabov will be held at the complex on March 21. The show is expected to involve more than 5,000 people. President Emomali Rahmon, Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev and members of the government will attend celebrations at the Navrouzgoh complex.
The Dushanbe mayor’s office has allocated 88.900 somoni for organization of gushtingiri (Tajik national wrestling) competitions and horse racing in the Tajik capital on occasion of the Navrouz holiday. The gushtingiri competitions will take lace at the Dushanbe central stadium on March 22 and the horse racing will be held at the Dushanbe hippodrome on March 23.
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.
