DUSHANBE, January 31, 2012, Asia-Plus — Some 4,000 school students and some 6,000 university students will be involved in theatrical show to celebrate International Navrouz Day. The main Navrouz celebrations will take place at the Navrouzgoh complex in Dushanbe on March 21.
Ms. Gulnora Boboyeva, the chairperson of the Dushanbe education directorate, told Asia-Plus today that rehearsals will not affect the education process because they will be held outside regular hours. “Rehearsals of crowd scenes for school students will begin on February 6 and rehearsals of crowd scenes with participation of university students will begin on February 14,” Boboyeva noted.
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 18, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution, declaring March 21 International Navrouz Day. Heritage of Humanity.
We will recall that Tajikistan hosts International Navrouz Celebrations this year and high-ranking delegation from more than 30 countries are expected to attend celebrations in Dushanbe.
