Nowruz, 3000-Year-Old Spring Festival of Persian Origin (Part 3)

The United Nations in its Feb. 23, 2010 General Assembly recognized March 21 as International Day of Nowruz to let the New Year festivity of over 300 million people across the globe become officially international.
According to the preamble of the resolution on the International Day of Nowruz, which means new day, member states were asked to register March 21 as the International Day of Nowruz in their official calendars. The UN resolution has described Nowruz as the day of the vernal equinox, which is celebrated for over 3,000 years by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. 
Nowruz marks the beginning of the New Year in Iran and Afghanistan. In addition to Iran, with official and unofficial holidays during Nowruz, it is celebrated as an official holiday in many other countries although Nowruz is not the beginning of the new year in some countries.

Turkmenistan
Nowruz holidays in Turkmenistan last for four days (from March 20 to March 23). According to the old and new traditions, people in Turkmenistan celebrate New Year twice a year. One of these festivals is observed based on the Christian calendar approved by the United Nations as the International Festival (New Year) and another festival is observed as a sign of revival nature (Nowruz), the ancient tradition of the people of Turkmenistan. People in Turkmenistan also observe New Year holidays by cooking famous Nowruz cuisine namely Nowruz Keja, Nowruz Bameh, and Samani (Samanu). Horseracing, wrestling, handkerchief jumping, cockfighting, and sheep horn fight are among the other Nowruz ceremonies in this republic.
Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi