On Friday, March 21st, the White House hosted its first ever Nowruz event. President Obama released a statement on the occasion—“as you and your families gather around the Nowruz table, I want to extend my best wishes on this new spring and new year. As always, this holiday is a chance to give gratitude for your blessings and to reflect on our hopes for the year ahead.”
The reception took place in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and included policy briefings on foreign affairs, the economy and health care. Guests included distinguished representatives from Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Afghan, Iranian and Turkish communities. Specifically in attendance at this premier event were Dr. Faruk Taban, President of Turkic American Alliance, Emre Çelik, President of the Rumi Forum, Jena Luedtke, Director of Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue Affairs at Rumi Forum, and Vladimir Fedorenko, Research Fellow at the Rethink Institute.
Dancers from the Silk Road dance troupe performed various cultural dances from Central Asia and Persia. Guests were also treated to remarks by Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States and Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.
According to the United Nations, Nowruz is a spring festival of Persian origin that is celebrated globally by over 300 million people as the beginning of the New Year. Such celebrations have taken place for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions. Nowruz is celebrate every year on the day of the vernal equinox, which happened to take place this year on March 21st.
Nowruz Mubarak!
