Iranians celebrate Nowruz, use video calls amid coronavirus outbreak

Iranians all around the world are celebrating the ancient festival of Nowruz, a holiday that heralds the beginning of spring and marks the start of the Persian New Year.

Nowruz is the first day of the Iranian calendar month of Farvardin. The day usually falls on March 20, but in leap years, it coincides with March 21.

Being originally a festival of Persian origin, Nowruz is also celebrated by hundreds of millions of people from other ethno-linguistic groups in several countries, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

It is also observed by communities in countries as far away as Georgia, Albania, Kosovo, China and India.

The Persian New Year comes with its own special rituals. This year, however, COVID-19 pandemic has partly overshadowed these traditions.

Iran is under a partial lockdown and Iranians are encouraging each other to stay indoors, taking advantage of video calls to protect themselves during the outbreak.

So far, the new virus has claimed 1,284 lives in Iran and infected more than 18,000 others.

The UN's General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz in 2010, describing it as a spring festival of Iranian origin, which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years.

Also in 2009, Nowruz was officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

MG