Iran attends int’l spring festival in northeast Azerbaijan

Baku, March 4, IRNA – International spring festival focusing on Norouz, the beginning of spring according to the ancient Iranian solar calendar, kicked off in northeastern Azeri city of Quba with participation of five countries including Iran. Governor of Quba, Ziauddin Aliev and Iranian cultural attaché in Azerbaijan Asghar Farsi as well as ambassadors and cultural officials from other countries participated in the event also attended by Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Participating countries are to display their culture and traditions around the issue of Norouz as a common civilization. Norouz, as spelled in Persian, means the New Day and marks the beginning of spring according to the ancient Iranian solar calendar. Norouz as a global festival with Iranian roots is annually being celebrated in different world countries. At the Quba festival, Iran plans to introduce the country’s cultural and tourism attractions as well as national handicrafts which are well-known to the world. Addressing the opening ceremony on the festival, Aliev described Norouz as a feast of unity and peace which is a common cultural heritage for the people in the region. Azerbaijan started holding Norouz feasts after the country won independence in first 1990s. Iranian cultural attaché, too, termed Norouz as the epitome of commonalities among regional peoples. After Quba, the international spring festival is to be held in Masalli, south Azerbaijan, and Shaki, in northwest of the country. Norouz, being celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide, is one of the oldest and most cherished festivity occasions observed for at least 3,000 years now. People in Iran celebrate the turn of the year by chanting a special and famous prayer, asking God to change their minds and perceptions in the same way He revives the nature. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish