Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to wish an exceptionally healthy and happy new year to the many Canadians celebrating Nowruz.
Over the weekend, many in our country joined 300 million people around the world with cultural roots in western and central Asia to welcome in a new year.
A 3,000-year-old tradition, Nowruz is a festive holiday celebrated, among others, by Persians, Afghans, Turks, Kurds, Zoroastrians, Baha'is and Ismailis. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure to virtually join many around their haft-seen tables to mark the spring equinox and to embrace the promise of new beginnings.
Celebrated for several millennia, Nowruz is meant to bring together people of different cultures and languages to celebrate renewal, optimism and light, all essential qualities that can guide us as we emerge with all the necessary vim and vigour to put the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic behind us.
[Member spoke in Farsi]