On March 25, the Founder of Peace and National Unity - Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, and the Chairman of the Majlisi milli Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mayor of Dushanbe City, Honorable Rustam Emomali, took part at the festivities of Navruz procession – “Caravan of Joy” at the “Istiklol” Square Complex of the city of Dushanbe.

The venue of the “Caravan of Joy” was decorated with slogans in honor of Navruz and the special symbol of the International Navruz.

The Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon addressed the numerous audience of the magnificent Navruz cultural program and congratulated the participants of the event, all the noble people of Tajikistan and compatriots living abroad on the International Navruz Holiday.

The President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, emphasized that Navruz is one of the greatest and most favorite holidays of Tajiks, which has come down to our time as a valuable legacy of our noble ancestors.

It was stressed that in famous “Shahname”, the foundation of Navruz and the determination of the beginning of the new year are attributed to Peshdadian King Jamshed, therefore, this holiday is also referred to as Jamshedi Navruz.

“In this sense, Navruz as the beginning of all flourishing, blooming and revival of earth and seasons has an inseparable link with the ancient history and world-known culture and literature of the Tajik nation,” - the Head of State said.

It was mentioned that Navruz is a purely natural holiday, a symbol of the awakening of nature, the indissoluble and eternal connection of man with nature, and an occasion for joy and happiness of people, old and young.

The Leader of the Nation emphasized that we not only celebrate Navruz as our rich cultural heritage, but also strive to learn and restore its lost rituals and customs.

It is a matter of pride that Navruz – an originally Tajik word, meaning “new day” is now used by millions of people on the planet as a day of celebration. Many nations and peoples of the world have adopted this holiday and celebrate it with their own traditions.

That is, Navruz has become one of the most important factors in the spread of ancient Tajik culture and civilization in the world. Navruz is the day of the emergence of light, the victory of good over evil, the removal of hatred and enmity from the hearts and the forgiveness of each other's sins, the day of kindness and happiness, the day of the awakening of nature, the end of cold and the beginning of abundance.

The Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon emphasized that Navruz holiday and independence and freedom – these two concepts dear and sacred to each of us have found a deep connection with each other in the modern history of Tajiks, because Navruz as a passport of national history and culture of the ancient and civilized people presented Tajiks to the world.

The Leader of the Nation considered it necessary to further make efforts through the use of our good national customs and traditions for the prosperity and development of our dear country and strengthening the achievements of the era of state independence, and to direct all our abilities and energy to the construction and creation of our beloved Motherland – Tajikistan.

“We must respect our national holidays, our native language, history, culture and ancient civilization, protect them as the most precious national wealth, and in the extremely complex and crisis conditions of the modern world, we must safeguard the greatest gift of our life – independence, freedom, peace, stability and national unity through union and solidarity”, - the Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon highlighted.

The President guided the people of the country to keep their homes, places of residence and workplace always clean and beautiful, to make beauty, freedom, cleanliness and improvement a permanent habit of the old and young of the country, so that all corners of our dear Tajikistan become genuinely Navruz venue in all seasons of the year and every day of Tajikistan be like Navruz.

The Head of State Honorable Emomali Rahmon once again mentioned the turbulent situation of today's world, the threats and dangers of modern times, including the increasing activity of extremist and terrorist groups and the causes and factors contributing to them.

It was noted that, especially, the shameful and terrible incident that happened near the city of Moscow warns all of us, especially parents, once again to pay more attention to the education of children.

The Leader of the Nation emphasized that we should protect teenagers and young people from the influence of such destructive and terrifying groups and movements and not allow our children to harm the good name of the Tajik nation, the sovereign state of Tajiks and their parents.

A festive program began after the congratulatory speech of the Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon.

The main aim of the grand and purposeful celebration of Navruz this year through Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” is to honor the sanctity, tradition, and ancient and modern culture and civilization of the Tajik nation.

It is worth noting that before the beginning of the festive sections in the “Istiklol” Square, excerpts from the speeches of the Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon dedicated to the International Holiday of Navruz were recited.

“Caravan of Joy” consists of 20 parts – beginning and end, and 18 different cultural and entertainment sections, including “Birds of good news”, “Spring arrival”, “Flower garden of the Motherland”, “Peasant’s world”, “Navruzi dastarkhan”, “Navruzi games”, “World of youth”, “Tirgon”, “Mehrgon”, “Sada”, “Otash” (Fire), “Sumanak”, “Holiday party”, “Six colors of the Motherland” and others, each of which has its own meaning and embodies symbols of International Navruz holiday.

More than 11 thousand people participated in the “Caravan of Joy” and demonstrated all the traditions of the centuries-old holiday of the ancient Tajik nation by organizing various sections.

The opening part of Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” originates from the prayers of the ancestors, the Sun appears in the space and conveys its message, which represents Navruz holiday, to the 12 celestial constellations, the four elements of life and the four seasons. Under the light of Sun, the entourage and professional artists revive and illuminate through rays of light the fairy land and world, and on this background the Hero of Navruz appears and invites people to rejoicing and dance.

Another part of this magnificent program was “Birds of good news”, which testifies to the ancient history of Navruz.

In this part of the “Caravan of Joy”, special spring customs and traditions, especially the appearance of a flock of birds in the sky – cranes, parrots, butterflies, heralding the arrival of spring, were very interesting and charming.

“Spring arrival” is another part of Navruz program, in which 12 trumpet players invite the Queen of Spring to the throne.

The flowing throne of Spring is 20 meters long, 6 meters wide and 5 meters high, representing the spring of Tajikistan and the reviving land of flowers. 18 beautiful girls are performing on it in the form of tulips.

The stage is renewed and transformed constantly, in which festive ceremonies with new heroes enter the festival with interesting and attractive roles.

The “Peasant’s world” section also reflects the good traditions of Navruz, in the square Spring and Navruz welcome the peasant with a couple of cows, sham yoke and plow. Spring presents the bag of wheat to the peasant, and the peasant starts planting. At the beginning of planting, the peasant dances, and the field is transformed through electronic imaging equipment into festive dastarkhans.

In the “Navruzi dastarkhan” section, two Navruz dastarkhans (tablecloths) decorated with white color and yellow, blue and green embroidery with national motifs measuring 6 by 12 meters present to the viewers a variety of food and fruits of haftsin, haftshin and haftmim.

Obviously, it is impossible to imagine the Navruz holiday without folk arts and crafts. In this regard, the next parts of Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” were dedicated to the sound of trumpets and tambourines, with the performance of legendary heroes, puppets, clowns, horsemen, as well as sports games, including wrestling, pulling the rope, and cockfighting.

The performances of young and talented pop and folk singers, who formed the next parts of the festivities, gave the event a special splendor and brilliance.

The embodiment of the national holidays “Tirgon”, “Mehrgon” and “Sada” with the use of modern elements of the electronic image fully reflected and supplemented the separate aspects of Navruz celebration.

It is worth noting that the speech of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan at the United Nations on the importance of protecting glaciers was shown in the “Sada” section on the monitors of the venue of festivities. In the continuation of this scene, a large platform with multi-colored lighting lights in the form of a glacier, on which the throne of Ozar-God of Fire and winter heroes are placed, enters the field. The throne is transformed into a burning fire by the use of lighting fires, and through the fire, the flame show (alowparak), which is considered one of the ancient rituals of our ancestors, was conducted.

According to historical sources, sumanak is one of the dishes that belongs exactly to Navruz holiday. Placing the ceremony of “Sumanak” in the “Caravan of Joy” is a testimony to the revival and promotion of national dishes and famous folk traditions.

An important part of Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” was made up of folk crafts, such as clothes and delicious Tajik food.

In this section, artists and enthusiasts were once again able to represent the glorious culture of the Tajik nation to the world in a dignified way by showing examples of national clothes and dishes.

A grand prototype composed of percussion instruments enters the venue of procession in an atmosphere of national dance. Six platforms full of doira instruments and people representing the elements of the 6 regions of the country make the atmosphere even more colorful. Navruz gives light to the Sun by beating the Doira. The participants of the procession dressed in clothes representing different regions of the country in the “Six colors of the Motherland” section turn the festival into a symbol of friendship and solidarity of residents of all regions of the republic.

  At this point, the magnificent holiday program “Caravan of Joy” comes to an end.

In the “Closing” part of the event, the speeches of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, devoted to the International Navruz Holiday, were broadcast on the monitors of the venue.

At the same time, after the appearance of Navruz, the stage of the central square of the festival turns into Navruz sumanak, and from the field of light, the symbol of the Sun, 12 cosmic constellations, four elements of life, four seasons, and Spring and Navruz Olamafruz appear in the circle of participants, and the Sumanak begins to grow and blossom.

It is worth mentioning that the good traditions of Navruz, which are respected in all regions of the country, were shown at this event.

The carnival embodiment of the glorification of International Navruz and the stages of its historical formation as the spiritual capital of the Tajik nation and the chosen ritual of humanity, through modern technical media and using large-scale symbolic constructions and attributes, ancient and modern music and melodies, traditional narratives, various types of folk ethnography, clothes and colorful entourage gave special splendor to the celebration.

During the period of independence of the country, special attention was paid to the comprehensive development of the national culture with the direct initiative of the Leader of the Nation, Honorable Emomali Rahmon, and during this period, a number of national rituals that had been forgotten over time were revived.

Holding the Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” in the country is a logical continuation of the culture-fostering policy of the Head of State.

  The “Caravan of Joy” held in the capital of the country – Dushanbe in a new and rich form brought immense joy and happiness to the people and guests of this Navruz procession, the main source of which is complete peace and stability and national unity throughout the country.

In the end, President Emomali Rahmon once again congratulated all those present on the arrival of the International Navruz Holiday, and thanked the leadership of the Executive body of state authority of Dushanbe City and the developers, artists and enthusiasts for organizing the Navruz procession “Caravan of Joy” at a very high and meaningful level.

The magnificent program of "Caravan of Joy" ended with colorful fireworks.