Nowruz attracts people of different nationalities into its orbit

Read on the website Vestnik Kavkaza

Nowruz or Novruz is celebrated in Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan on the day of the spring equinox as a national holiday ... In Azerbaijan, this year the Nowruz holiday will be celebrated from March 20th to 24th, and in Tajikistan from March 19th to 24th.

"It is no accident that Nowruz involves in its orbit people of different nationalities from different regions, and so on, because it is amazing in its ideology, in its philosophical celebration. This is a very ancient holiday. If I say that it is 7000 years old, if I say it is 10,000 years old, it is simply impossible to prove, because it is a very ancient holiday, which is rooted in distant antiquity. No one can say exactly when it was established. Although in the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi there is such a legend that King Dzhamshid, a legendary Iranian king, established this holiday," the chairman of the Tajik Cultural Center Malika Khamrakulova said.

According to UNESCO, it is celebrated today by more than 300 million people on the planet, and it is included on the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity. "Those basic ethical principles, which were established in Nowruz from the beginning, are that attractive point that is so captivating for different nations. First, I must say that this is a calendar, astronomical holiday. It is  celebrated on the spring equinox day, when the lengths of the day and night are equal. Secondly, the winter is over, the spring is starting, it is time for working in the fields, it is already possible to sow the first seed in the ground, and therefore, what to think about? You have to think about growing a good crop, avoiding starvation, about well-being, so Farishta, that is the angels, come to your house, so they can look after and protect you. And for all this to happen your house should be clean, everything should be cleaned, everything is cleaned, the whole family puts on new garments, and so on and so forth. All sins are forgiven, all hardships are forgotten. Even more than that: bonfires are lit, through which you need to jump, because fire is sacred, it protects from sins," Khamrakulova related.

According to her, the basic moral principles, which have been established in Nowruz, are this friendliness, this desire for well-being, the desire to forgive, and worship, of course, the sun, the earth, the water, which are sacred, because they give life.