Nowruz, 3000-Year-Old Spring Festival of Persian Origin (Part 6)

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.
Kurdish-Inhabited Regions in Iraq and Turkey
March 21 is an official holiday in the Autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, but it is an unofficial holiday in other regions. Those Kurdish families losing a family member in the course of the year stay at home in New Year and their relatives pay a visit to them to commemorate the family member they have lost.
In line with its policy to join the European Union, it is for a few years the Turkish government has officially registered Nowruz as a National Holiday. In the new Turkish Education Association, Nowruz has been admitted as a national festival and notified to the educational centers to observe ceremonies on this occasion. Nowruz is gloriously observed in southeast Turkish cities like Diyarbakir, Urfa, Marash, and Mercin.
Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi