On the occasion of the Navrouz festival, which is marked on March 21, gushtingiri (traditional Tajik jacket wrestling).competitions will take place at the Navrouzgoh complex (Dushanbe hippodrome) on March 20 and 21.
On March 24, horse races will take place at Dushanbe hippodrome. Riders from all regions of the country are expected to participate in this race.
Meanwhile, by Dushanbe mayor’s resolution a youth friendship festival entitled “Youth Are Followers of the Leader of the Nation and Heirs of the Navrouz Traditions” will take place in the Tajik capital from March 16 through March 19.
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.
