Iranians all over the world are celebrating the ancient festival of Nowruz, a holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the Persian New Year.
Nowruz, which means New Day, is the first day of the Persian 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.