Nowruz 2023

On March 21, the Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine welcomed participants and guests of the 10th open city interuniversity festival-holiday NOWRUZ 2023.
The New Year's holiday of the spring equinox Nowruz, originated in Khorasan (a historical region in northeastern Iran) more than 3,000 years ago, almost simultaneously with the emergence of agriculture, spread to all neighboring countries. It is currently celebrated on the days on which the spring equinox falls. On September 30, 2009, Nowruz was included by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Nowruz is currently celebrated on March 21 as the official beginning of the new year according to the astronomical solar calendar in Iran and Afghanistan. Nowruz is celebrated as a state holiday on March 21 in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. Among the nations celebrating Nowruz, it has become customary: the more generous the holiday is, the more prosperous the year will be.
The festival-holiday in Vitebsk is held in order to:
develop the knowledge in the field of various national cultures among students of higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus
affirm the principles of interethnic peace and harmony in society, mutual respect and mutual understanding between representatives of different nationalities
preserve and popularize of cultural heritage, folk traditions, language, decorative and applied arts of ethnic groups celebrating the holiday of Nowruz, the identity of each national culture
support talented international students.
The holiday programme included sports competitions, an exhibition dedicated to the history and culture of different nationalities, and a concert programme. A team of foreign students of our university took part in sports competitions such as Table tennis, Tug of war, Darts.
The students confidently coped with sports tasks and adequately presented their native university:
In Darts the first place was taken by Jamshid Sadullayev, a student of the Faculty of Finance and Economics
In Table tennis the second place was taken by Utkirjon Erkaev, a student of the Faculty of Finance and Economics
In Tug of war the second place was taken by the team of Euphrosyne of Polotskya State University Polotsk.
At the same time, a holiday with foreign students Nowruz and other Uzbek traditions was held at our university. The participants told what they know about Uzbekistan and some Uzbek traditions in the form of a quiz. During the holiday, there were some traditional games. One of such games is Kurash wrestling (translated as achieving the goal in an honest way) a type of national belt wrestling, traditional among the Turkic peoples, which is officially included in the world network of non Olympic sports and is supported by UNESCO.
Another game that reveals strong rivals is Arkon Tortish or tug of war, ropes. The game accompanies Uzbek folk festivals, weddings, Nowruz and other rituals. And another game that is played on Nowruz is Ok terakmi kuk terak. The teams stand in front of each other in a line, holding hands tightly and singing a song in chorus. One team calls one of the opponents of the other team, who must break the 'wall' of the opponents.
National dishes are also part of the holiday. The girls have prepared some of them. During the preparation of dishes, so that women do not get bored, people dance and sing around them. Thanks to the holiday, the students were able to touch Uzbek culture and listen to the Uzbek language and music.