Kurds, as well as several nations in the Middle East and Central Asia, celebrate Newroz, marking the arrival of spring and the first day of the New Year in their respective calendars.
“An inscription of an element of intangible cultural heritage on a list of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage does not imply exclusivity, nor ownership, of the heritage concerned,” a UNESCO spokesperson told Rudaw’s Bizhar Zubair in an email.
“’Nawrouz, Novruz, Nowrouz, Nowrouz, Nawrouz, Nauryz, Nooruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nevruz, Nowruz, Navruz’ was inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016 at the joint initiative of 12 countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan,” they added.
A United Nations resolution in 2010, proclaimed March 21, as “The International Day of Nowruz”.
The Newroz celebrations are also observed in many countries and communities, with around 300 million practitioners all over the globe, said the spokesperson.
The ownership of the festival is often a topic of intense debate and controversy among the celebrating nations, with each community claiming the rights to the celebrations.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the Kurdistan Region, as well as Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iran, and Syria, will celebrate the eve of Newroz on Wednesday, which also symbolizes a day of freedom from tyranny and resistance.
Kurds celebrate Newroz on March 21-23 by picnicking in the countryside and lighting bonfires with their families and loved ones. The occasion is known as the Kurdish New Year.
Celebrations and festivities are held across the Kurdistan Region with hundreds of thousands of Kurds wearing their colorful traditional Kurdish clothes.
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