TAJIK TOWN TO MARK NOROOZ MARCH 21

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DUSHANBE, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Tajik town of Vakhdat near Dushanbe is to celebrate Norooz (Persian New Year) on March 21.

Open-air parties, theatrical performances, a gala concert and national sports events will take place in Vakhdat.

The country's top leadership headed by President Emomali Rakhmonov will attend festivities in Vakhdat.

Norooz, an official republican holiday, is celebrated each year from March 20 to 23.

Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as Kazakhstan's Turkic nations, the Kurds, the Bashkirs and the Tartars, celebrate Norooz on a grand scale. Norooz is literally translated as New Day. Unlike most Islamic holidays, Norooz is a secular event. This can be explained by its pre-Islamic origins.

Norooz, which was the most important ancient Aryan holiday, is connected with the vernal equinox day. It will be 1384 in Iran in line with the sun calendar, that is, when the Sun enters the Aries (Ram) constellation. Norooz, which was originally a peasant holiday, had serious implications because it marked the transfer to field work, i.e. a new farming cycle.

Agriculture calendar rites were perceived as its most important aspect. Consequently, Norooz is linked with the Sun, as well as fertility and water cults. The Sun was one of life's important elements. Apart from Zoroastrian symbols, the Sun was the Persian calendar's main aspect, with ancient Persians using sundials to keep time. The Sun's circular movement symbolized life's cycles. The Persian Shah wore a wreath showing the Sun and its wheels during the festivities.

Norooz was quite popular with large sections of society, thereby managing to survive under different religions and state-power systems. The Iranian political and cultural situation tended to change through the ages. Specific rites were interpreted differently, and new cults added.

The Arabs came to Iran in the seventh century A. D. Before that time,Norooz was closely linked with Zoroastrianism. The official Norooz holiday, which had evolved in the times of Zarathustra, hinged on folk holidays and rites. Zarathustra decided that Norooz should be celebrated on the vernal equinox day. This holiday was supposed to remind the people about the Last Day of the World that would become the New Day of Eternal Life.

The most conservative and immutable peasant rites alone have survived till this day. Peasant life is closely linked with everyday life, thereby enabling Norooz to retain its positions. Moreover, all peasant cultures understand the essence of Norooz. Aryan ethnic groups are not the only ones to celebrate it. Different nations have similar holidays. For instance, most Indo-Aryan ethnic groups worship the swastika as the symbol of the Sun, the triumph of life and reincarnation.

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