In a message posted in the official website of the United Nations, Guterres writes, “for more than 300 million people across the world, Nowruz is about new beginnings: the arrival of a new year; the first day of spring; the renewal of nature.”

“For all of us, it is a chance to reaffirm our commitment to peace, human rights and human dignity; to fostering dialogue and mutual respect; to protecting the planet and building a future that leaves no one behind.”

He also adds that “the International Day of Nowruz is celebrated in a spirit of friendship, reconciliation and harmony. I offer best wishes to all who are marking this observance. May the Nowruz holiday serve as an inspiration to us all.”</s>The ceremony was held at the World Intellectual Property Organization building in Geneva on March 21, marking the beginning of the Persian New Year and arrival of spring.

During the ceremony, Iranian ambassador to UN office at Geneva, Esmaeil Baghaei, delivered a speech on behalf of the 11 countries which celebrate Nowruz, discussing the philosophy of Nowruz and the importance of getting inspiration from this ancient rite to promote solidarity, friendship and mutual respect among nations.

Baghaei described Nowruz as the bearer of this universal message of welcoming transformation and renewal, and perceiving the dependency of human beings on nature and the environment.

Nowruz was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, and recognized as an international day by UN General Assembly in 2010.

The Nowruz ceremony in Geneva was attended by more than 2000 people, including ambassadors and diplomats, officials and staff from international organizations and Iranians living in Switzerland.

In addition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which coordinated the ceremony, representatives from Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey also participated in the event.</s>Iraqi Kurds celebrated Nowruz – the traditional Kurdish New Year – with a torchlit procession up the Akre mountain in Iraq's northern Kurdish region on Wednesday night.

Thousands of people, many wearing traditional Kurdish clothes, carried torches, set off fireworks and gathered round bonfires to dance and a huge Kurdish flag was unfurled on the side of the mountain.

Millions of Kurds celebrate Nowruz on 21 March, on the first day of spring. The festival is celebrated by Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria and is also celebrated as the Persian New Year in Iran.

Nowruz symbolises the passing of the dark season and the arrival of the season of light, but has also come to stand for Kurdish hopes for freedom and self-rule.

At least 30 million Kurds are thought to live scattered around the Middle East, but only in Iraq do they enjoy meaningful autonomy.</s>Videos from several Iranian cities of people celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, have been shared on Twitter on Thursday which coincides the first day of the year.

While celebrating the Nowruz includes preparing colored eggs, preparing good food and families getting into a spring-cleaning mode, it also includes festivities on the night of the new year eve when people go to streets to dance and celebrate.

The Nowruz celebrations have been a widely controversial issue that some governments tried to ban, like Syria and Turkey. Iranians meanwhile still celebrate it as a tradition dates back to hundreds of years.

Read More: Why Is Turkey Intimidated by Kurdish Celebrations of Nowruz, the Persian New Year?</s>Nowruz is celebrated worldwide by various ethno-linguistic groups. Despite its Iranian and Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz has been celebrated by diverse communities. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, and the Balkans.

Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendar.

It usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day, depending on where it is observed.

The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families gather together to observe the rituals.</s>“In my heart you are the mirthful ray

 You are the caring, though my companions they

 Happy is the world with the Nowruz and with the Eid

 You are both my Eid and my Nowruz today” – Rumi (13th-century Persian poet)

Although it is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as ‘Nowruz’, here in Iran we pronounce it more like ‘Norouz’, which simply means a ‘new day’ in Persian. As a child, it baffled me that some countries in the world celebrated their new year in Winter. Winter is when nature goes to sleep, there is no sense of renewal in it. It has always made more sense to me that a calendar should start with Spring, just as nature comes to life, trees become heavy with green foliage and tasty fruit, the sky becomes clear with the occasional sprinkles of rain that give the crispy air that wonderful petrichor smell in the morning, and everything feels softer and generally prettier than any other time in the year (or perhaps, this is just my impressionistic conception of what Spring is supposed to entail).

In any case (and let’s not get into that discussion about how Christmas (Yule) may have as well been inspired by the Persian winter solstice celebration ‘Yalda’), Nowruz holds a special place in the heart and memory of many Iranians. And the wonderful thing about the Persian New Year is that it is not celebrated only in Iran. Many countries along the Silk Road, such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, celebrate Nowruz, and the rite is not exclusive to one culture or religion. It has the advantage of being so ancient (dating back to 3,000 years) and having not only survived but actually flourished well into the 21st century, that it is only logical for Nowruz to be so comprehensive, and diverse, and all around a happy, unifying occasion with all its variations and different traditions and customs.

The Persian New Year celebration begins this year on Thursday, March 21, at 1:28 AM in Iran. As a child, I would pray that the first day of Spring wouldn’t start in the wee hours of the morning, when I was most likely sleeping, because there is this interesting superstition about Nowruz that you have to be at your best at the time of Sal Tahvil – the moment the new year begins – because it will affect your life for the whole coming year. This is why we have to be in our clean, and preferably new clothes, and all members of family gathered around the legendary ‘Haftseen’ table, and refraining from doing any activities other than watching the special Nowruz-edition programs on TV, divining the future through Hafiz’s poetry, and wishing one another a happy, prosperous new year (a practice that will sometimes stretch well into the next two months, or any time you greet someone for the first time since the new year began – and it’s ‘Sal-e no mobarak!’, by the way).

Speaking of new year superstitions, there is another popular belief that even I find difficult not to take seriously. Iran follows the Chinese zodiac tradition of assigning an animal to each year in a twelve-year cycle. This year, 1398, is the year of the pig, the last animal in the cycle. And pig symbolizes wealth and good fortune, so it seems we will be off to a good start this year. When the devastating Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran in 2003 and left over 26,000 people dead, I was 14, and it was the year of the sheep, and I remember my mother used to tell me that sheep signified sacrifice and slaughter, and she strongly believed that the zodiacal animal had something to do with all those deaths that year. It also didn’t help that her mother passed away in the exam same year.

As I mentioned, the first day of Nowruz, which follows 12 more days of joyous festivity, falls on March 21, the first day of Farvardin in the Iranian calendar. According to statistics, an impressive number of over 187 million people in 11 countries across the world observe Nowruz as a national holiday. Countries that have inscribed Nowruz in their national calendar include: Iran, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kosovo, Iraqi Kurdistan and Georgia.

Countries where Nowruz is celebrated by the people but not considered as a national holiday include India, Turkey, Egypt, France, the Republic of Tatarstan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Lebanon, Syria, China, UAE and even Sweden.

Nowruz was first inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, through the initiative of Iran and joint cooperation of Azerbaijan, India, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The case was later extended in 2016 to include five more countries - Afghanistan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The UN's General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz in 2010, describing it as a Spring festival of Iranian origin. On 15 March 2010, the US House of Representatives passed the Nowruz Resolution by a 384–2 vote, "Recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Nowruz…”

So, Nowruz is actually pretty popular around the world. But what does the celebration mainly include in Iran? Well, here are some of the most popular traditions:

Housecleaning, done a few days before Spring. The activity sometimes becomes monstrous, and every child’s nightmare, as it involves all members of the family to engage in a vigorous activity to give a thorough scrub to the whole household.

Chaharshanbe Suri, which falls on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, and includes jumping over bonfires while singing ‘My sickly yellow paleness is yours; your fiery red color is mine.’ In the metropolis Tehran, there will be lots of fireworks instead.

Going to the cemetery on the last Thursday of the old year to remember the ones who have passed away, and are no longer among us to celebrate the coming year. People usually put hyacinths or sabzeh (sprouts, which are planted especially as a Nowruz decoration) on the tombs.

New Year shopping, where you hop from one shop to another to get yourself a nice, new outfit to wear for the entirety of the 13-day long holidays. Most of the time, it’s a last minute thing where you have to assemble an acceptable outfit in just a few hours, shouldering your way through a large crowd at various shopping malls.

Haftseen (The Seven S’s), a traditional table setting that symbolizes life, fertility and love as a whole, and requires all members of the family to gather around the moment the new year begins. The Seven S’s are:

Over the years, Haftseen began to include some other varieties such as coins (symbolizing wealth), candles (symbolizing light and dawn), mirror (symbolizing purity and sincerity), decorated eggs (like the ones you see on Easter Day) for each member of the family to symbolize fertility, gold fish in a bowl (although nowadays, animal rights advocates advise you against the idea because of gold fish high mortality rate), as well as the book of Shahnameh or the Divan of Hafiz. Some families would compete over whose Haftseen looks better.

Eid Didani, or an intensive period of visiting your relatives. During Nowruz holidays, households are busy hosting relatives close and distant, with a wide variety of sweets and ajil (trail mix), baklava, nan berenji (cookies made from rice flour), exciting-looking confections, and generally everything your dietitian would be horrified to find out you have eaten.

Eidi, which is the name given to the money the people you go to for ‘Eid Didadni’ give you as a gift. However, the tradition may have gone out of practice in some families, and adults are less eligible to receive eidi. Eidi usually has a spiritual worth, as opposed to a monetary one, so don’t be offended if the only thing you can buy with your eidi is just a sandwich.

Travelling, or a perfect excuse for ditching the whole ‘eid didani’ tradition. Some families would take the opportunity of the long holidays to visit other cities, or other countries if they can afford the atrocious travel costs.

New Year Cuisine, which you can have at any other time of the year, of course, but which taste specially better during Nowruz. They include Ash-e reshteh (a noodle soup), Kuku sabzi (herbs and vegetable soufflé) served for dinner on New Year’s, Reshteh polow (rice cooked with noodles), Sabzi polow with fish, and dolma (cooked vegetables, meat and rice rolled in grape leaves).

And last but definitely not least, sizdah bedar, the last day of Nowruz holidays, which falls on the 13th of Farvardin, and the number is considered to bring bad luck in Persian folklore. The idea of Sizdah bedar (literally, Thirteen Outdoor) is to spend time picnicking outdoors, and throwing away your Sabzeh because it is considered a bad omen to still have it when Nowruz holidays are over.

Another wonderful thing about Nowruz is that every ethnicity in Iran, such as Kurds, Gilakis, Mazandaranis, Lurs or Baloch, have their own unique traditions to observe for the New Year. For example, ‘Nowruz Khani’ is one of the most popular traditions of the Mazanderani people. About fifteen days before spring arrives, groups of singers who are called ‘Nowruz Khan’, go from house to house, while singing lines of poetry in praise of Spring, the new year and the nature. It is customary for the householders to give them gifts or to offer them sweets, candies, eggs, peas, and other foods. On the 13th, men hold a wrestling competition that lasts from morning until evening.</s>A blast during a Persian New Year celebrations in a Shia area of the Afghan capital, authorities said, with at least six people were killed in the bombings.

"Twenty-three were wounded and six people were martyred (killed) in today's explosions in Kabul," health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar told AFP.

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, which police said had been caused by three remote-controlled mines. 

They were placed in the washroom of a mosque, one behind a hospital, and one in an electricity meter.

The blasts were near Kabul University and the Karte Sakhi shrine, where many Afghans gather every year to mark Nowruz.

Traditional Persian New Year holiday are considered un-Islamic by fundamentalists in the country.

"As we celebrate this auspicious day to bind us together our fellow citizens witnessed another devastating day in #Kabul," President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter.

"We lost peaceful citizens to a coward enemy that knows no bounds."

Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said a fourth mine was defused near Kabul University but mines were far from the main site of the celebrations

Authorities are combing the area for more bombs.

One year ago, an Islamic State group bombing near a crowd celebrating at a shrine killed 33 people.

Afghan Shia are regularly targeted by IS in an attempt to stir up sectarian violence in Sunni-majority Afghanistan.

IS have also attacked the shrine once before, in October 2016, when its gunmen killed 18 people gathered there to mark Ashura, an important date for many Muslims.

This article has been adapted from its original source.</s>Chaharshanbeh Soori fireworks on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, cleaning homes before the New Year, the Haft Seen table, visiting relatives, going to the graves of the lost loved ones, wearing new clothes during Nowruz and going to the nature on the 13th day of the New Year are the same for all Iranians.

However, the dishes of the first day of the New Year and the thirteenth day vary slightly in different cities. In some cities people eat their own special food in the New Year. There are also some customs and traditions that are observed in some cities.

One of the oldest customs observed in Tehran during Nowruz is the dancing of Hajji Firuz throughout the city in late March. He is a fictional character in the Iranian folklore who appears in the streets ahead of the New Year. His face is covered in soot, and he is clad in bright red clothes and a felt hat. He dances through the streets while singing and playing a tambourine.

A vegetarian dish made with whipped eggs folded with various ingredients and Ash (soup) on the thirteenth day of Nowruz, is one of the Iranian New Year’s customs that most Tehrani people adhere to.

The eating habits of Nowruz are different for people in Kerman. Kermanis prepare Komach Sehen, Qawoot, and Qottab which are their own special sweets. Some Kermanis believe that they should not travel on the 13th day of Nowruz as they believe 13 is an unlucky number.

It is customary to cook special cookies in North Khorasan province. They are cooked with the help of all members of the family, and the process is a usual custom for families in North Khorasan.

Breaking clay jars during the final days of the year and after Chaharshanbeh Soori is a significant custom of Iranians in South Khorasan. They throw a jar with some water from the highest point of the house to the yard to symbolically remove the dirt and grieves of the past year.

They celebrate the New Year by growing grains, dying their hands with henna and helping the needy. They wear new red and green clothes, and set seven items starting with “S” sound at a table. The only difference is that they put Siah Daneh (fennel flower) at this sufra.

Among the Gilak rituals one can refer to New Year’s greetings. Nowruz Khani is a tradition in which well-voiced artists sing songs to herald and welcome Nowruz and spring. They go to different neighbourhoods and homes as the couriers of spring.

Also, another ancient Nowruz ritual, which is now outdated, is throwing the mirror. A few days before Nowruz, a number of youths decorate a rectangular mirror with flowers and attach it to a long string, and after eating dinner, place the mirrors inside the room of the neighbours. In return for the mirror, they get coins, eggs and some halva.

The people of Qazvin welcome their guests with coloured dishes of homemade sweets, made with pistachio powder, almonds, sour cherries, figs, peas, raisins and berries. They also give their guests coloured eggs as gifts.

In Semnan province, people put daffodils, garlic and hyacinth on the Haft Seen sufra. Local games and songs are also popular while eating foods such as Sabzi Polo (herbed rice), Tahchin (rice cake), Ash-e Reshteh (stripped dough stew) and pomegranate stew.

The people of Sistan and Baluchestan province in south-eastern Iran go to the Mount Khajeh on the first day of the New Year, dancing and celebrating Nowruz. In Nowruz, they begin the new year in peace, reconciliation and amity. It means that they seek reconciliation at the same ceremony.

In Hormozgan province near the Persian Gulf, if someone has ordered a piece of clothes, s/he must take it from the tailor and dressmaker on Chaharshanbeh Soori. They should also give charity to a poor person in the form of dates, sugar or rice. On the same day, they must break a clay jug so that the spells are kept away. Hormozgani people celebrate Nowruz with local songs, games and dances.

On the first Saturday of the New Year women and children get out of the house, and combat the evil by cutting newly-grown edible plants. They call it “Saturdays Excursion”. This custom is not family-based and daily food is not taken out of the home. It is specifically held by women and children.</s>Image copyright EPA Image caption The Islamic State group said it was behind the attacks

At least six people have died in three bomb explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul during Persian New Year celebrations, officials say.

The remote-controlled explosions, which also injured 23 people, happened on Thursday morning.

AFP news agency said the devices were placed in the washroom of a mosque, a hospital and an electricity meter.

The Islamic State group (IS), which has been behind a series of attacks in Kabul, said it was responsible.

More than 30 people were killed in a suicide attack during the Nowruz festival last year.

Nowruz is the ancient Persian New Year holiday but is deemed un-Islamic by many ultra-conservative Muslims.

"As we celebrate this auspicious day to bind us together, our fellow citizens witnessed another devastating day in #Kabul," President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter.

"We lost peaceful citizens to a coward enemy that knows no bounds."

AFP reported the blasts were near Kabul University and the Karte Sakhi shrine.

Negotiations between the US and Taliban insurgents aimed at ending the 17-year conflict in Afghanistan began in January.</s>During Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, each vibrant item on the haftseen table has its own symbolic meaning.

Nowruz is one of the oldest holidays in the world that is celebrated every spring.

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Six people are killed and 23 others wounded in three bomb explosions during Nowruz celebration in Kabul, Afghanistan.