DUSHANBE January 28, 2013, Asia-Plus — A January 26 enlarged meeting of the Dushanbe mayor’s office, presided over by Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev, discussed issues related to preparations for the Navrouz celebrations.
Shavkat Saidov, a spokesman for the Dushanbe mayor’s office, says the meeting participants included minister of culture, president of the academy of sciences, Tajik writers’ union head, directors of relevant research institutes and senior representatives of the mayor’s office.
Three working groups comprising representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Academy of Sciences and Tajik Writers’ Union will meet on January 31 to offer their scenarios for celebration of Navrouz festival in Dushanbe.
A theatrical show dedicated to Navrouz festival will take place at the Navrouzgoh Complex in Dushanbe on March 22 and sports activities will be organized at the Dushanbe Central Stadium and the Navrouzgoh Complex on March 24, Saidov added.
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.
