Lok Virsa to celebrate Nowruz festival tomorrow

Islamabad
The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) would officially celebrate the Spring festival of Nowruz on March 28 (tomorrow) with a number of colourful activities.
The event is being organized under the supervision of Executive Director, Lok Virsa Dr Fauzia Saeed.
Nowruz means `New Day’ and it marks the arrival of Spring. Pakistan celebrates this Spring Festival with countries like Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Tajkistan and other Central Asian countries.
Nowruz is celebrated in Pakistan in Balti, Shina, Burusshaskhi, Wakhi and Khowar speaking communities of (Gilgit-Baltistan), Chitral, Hangu and Peshawar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Kurram Agency (FATA), Hazaras (Balochistan), Ismailis and Parsis (Sindh) and selected communities in Kashmir and Punjab. The event will showcase the special rituals for the celebration followed by spell-bounding dance performances, songs, traditional games and dishes.
This year Pakistan was officially included in UNESCO’s list of countries that celebrate Nowruz in the world. Nowruz is celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for thousands of years. It originated in Persia in one of the capitals of the Achaemenid empire in Persis in Iran and is also celebrated by the cultural region that came under Iranian influence.