Nowruz

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran has forced the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism to abort the nationwide Nowruz celebrations and enforce the closure of all museums as well as the cultural and historic sites in the new year’s holidays across the country.

Photo by Mahshid Fallahi, Mizan News Agency

Iran has cancelled the Nowruz international celebrations which were to be held in Kurdistan province due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in the Islamic Republic and the region.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi has ordered the courts across the country to grant the eligible prisoners leave for the new Iranian year’s holidays (mid-March) until April 3, also as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Based on an old tradition, Iranian people all over the country clean their houses before the beginning of spring, and the Persian New Year holidays known as Nowruz.

Iran and Turkmenistan have held a joint ceremony near the common border of the two countries to celebrate the Persian New Year or Nowruz.

The ceremony of celebrating Nowruz with the Dead is held every year in the village of Saqandin Kola in Sari County of Mazandaran province on the first Friday after the 13th of Farvardin which is the first month of the year in Iranian calendar.

One of the most delicious homemade sweets prepared for the Persian New Year is Sohan Asali, which is a combination of honey and Sohan, a traditional saffron brittle toffee indigenous to Iran.

Chickpea cookie is one of the most popular sweets baked for the Persian New Year holidays. It is served during Persian New Year visits among families and friends.

Iran’s president has, in separate messages, congratulated several heads of state on the arrival of Nowruz, which marks the start of the Persian New Year and is celebrated in many countries.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says “boosting domestic production” is the pivotal issue of the Persian New Year.

People in Iran and a number of other countries are celebrating the beginning of the New Persian Year, historically known as Nowruz.

Just days ahead of the Persian New Year or Nowruz, Iranian people from all walks of life begin to make home-made cookies as part of a traditional custom.

The Persian New Year or Nowruz is celebrated in a wide range of ways in different cities of Iran as there are many different ethnic groups and a great cultural diversity across the country. However, there are also some Nowruz customs that are the same among all the people living in Iran.

People in different parts of Iran mark the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian year by holding various festivities such as "Chaharshanbe Suri,"- the Fireworks Wednesday.

The Municipality of Bojnord, a city in North Khorasan province in north-eastern Iran, has prepared 300,000 flowerpots to use for decorating the city on the eve of the Persian New Year or Nowruz.

The Municipality of Tehran has decorated the exterior of old houses in alleys of District 9 as part of a pre-Nowruz campaign called “Look Again”.

A group of prominent artists from Turkmenistan are going to participate in the Nowruz events of Kish Island, a major tourist resort in southern Iran.

A festival of coloured eggs is underway in the Iranian capital of Tehran as part of Baharestan 98 event which is held on the eve of the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, with the participation of 450 artists at 10 sites.

A ceremony is to be held on the eve of the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, in the French capital Paris with the aim of strengthening inter-cultural relations between different nations.

An annual arts event has opened in the Iranian capital, Tehran, to welcome the Persian New Year Nowruz, which is just days away.

Iranian people from all walks of life are going on shopping sprees as the Persian New Year is around the corner.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on New Delhi and Islamabad to learn from the peaceful nature of Nowruz, which is celebrated in India and Pakistan, and set aside their differences, as there is no room for violence in the culture of Persian New Year celebrations.

The worldwide Nowruz celebrations will be held on February 29 in the Iranian capital Tehran in the presence of ambassadors and art groups from countries where Nowruz is celebrated, a few weeks ahead of the New Persian Year.

The number of trips made by Iranian people during the New Year holidays increased by 20 percent compared with previous year, said the Iranian Vice-President and Head of Tourism Organisation, Ali Asghar Moonesan.