DUSHANBE, March 19, Asia-Plus – The ceremony to mark the International Day of Navrouz took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 18.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Un Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that this significant holiday symbolizes harmony with nature, human solidarity and fresh beginnings, the UN News Center reports.
“There are many different ways to celebrate Navrouz in the rich, diverse region you represent. This tapestry of human culture is impressive. But I am even more moved that these very diverse peoples share common values. When they celebrate Navrouz, they rejoice in harmony with nature, human solidarity and fresh beginnings. These are the very values we need to address climate change, end poverty and resolve long-standing conflicts,” Ban said.
The UN secretary-general specially thanked the representatives of the 12 countries sponsoring the event. “The very fact that you have all come together in this festive atmosphere demonstrates the power of Navrouz to unite people from different cultures and backgrounds,” he said.
We will recall that the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz (In Tajik Navrouz), a spring festival of Persian origin, on March 23, 2010.
According to the preamble of the resolution on the International Day, Nowruz, which means new day, is celebrated on 21 March, the day of the vernal equinox, by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.
The Assembly called on Member States that celebrate the festival to study its history and traditions with a view to disseminating that knowledge among the international community and organizing annual commemoration events.
Welcoming the inclusion of Navrouz into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on September 30, 2009, the text notes the festival’s “affirmation of life in harmony with nature, the awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labor and natural cycles of renewal and the solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life.”
