Novruz: spring comes to Moscow

Representatives of 20 nations and states celebrated Novruz in Moscow at a citywide festival. The tradition of celebrating Novruz (the spring equinox) is one of the oldest in the world and has lasted for millennia. The holiday is on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. Every year it is celebrated by 300 million people. Spring is welcomed at the official level in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Tajikistan and other countries. In Russia it is traditionally marked in Tatarstan, Bashkiria and Dagestan, as well as in Iran, Tajikistan and other countries. Every nation celebrates Novruz in its own way, but one thing is common – you need to meet the holiday with good thoughts and pure intentions.

The Department of Ethnic Policy, Inter-regional Relations and Tourism of Moscow organized the event in the Russian capital.

“We are all responsible for the world we live in. We have such an opportunity today, to emphasize it again and tell us all that first of all, regardless of nationality, we are people who are fortunate enough to live in our time. And we should all treat it carefully, keeping traditions and knowing how much this world depends on us,” Vladimir Chernikov, the head of the Department of Ethnic Policy, Inter-regional Relations and Tourism of Moscow, said.

“This is one of my favorite holidays, because Novruz has been celebrated in Azerbaijan for a long time. On this day, we are preparing all sorts of sweets, we dance, have fun and greet spring. It does not matter who you are – Azerbaijani, Iranian, Pakistani. This is our common holiday, and we all unite on this holiday,” Shovgin Karimov, participant of the event, told Vestnik Kavkaza.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has sent a congratulatory letter to the participants of the event.

The head of the Department on Ethnic policy of the Presidential Administration, Tatiana Vagina, has also congratulated everyone on the holiday of spring: “I am one of those who are visiting this great festival for the first time, and as an impressionable woman, I absolutely love it. I received dolls as a present, ate chak-chak. I heartily congratulate you once again, wish you a great holiday, good neighborliness, peace at home, everything good.”

The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu, as the head of the ambassadors corps of the CIS, has expressed gratitude to the organizers of the holiday: “Novruz is a holiday celebrated since the time of Avesta. Novruz is a holiday of spring, a holiday of purity, a holiday of love, a holiday of youth. I would like to emphasize that this is not some religious holiday. It has no other meaning. It's really a holiday when spring comes to the earth. Moscow has always been an international city, multi-lingual and multi-religious, and it continues the traditions of the wonderful holiday of Novruz. Thanks to Moscow.”

Guests of the event were entertained by belt wrestling, performances of national collectives, they ate traditional food. In Iran, Novruz is the first day of the year. Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Sanai congratulated Vestnik Kavkaza on the holiday, and wished a good new year for all the peoples of the region.