Asia-Pacific
A little fire can inspire people at New Year's
By Mike Peters (China Daily/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-22 09:30
 |
Large Medium Small |
My only New Year's regret is that I didn't get to jump over the fire.
His Excellency Yashar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's ambassador to China, gathered a few hundred of his closest friends last week for the annual celebration of the New Year.
The Novruz holiday coincided with the spring equinox on Sunday. A pre-Islamic holiday that is rooted in ancient Persian culture, it is celebrated in Iran and Afghanistan (where the transliterated spelling is usually "Nowruz") and parts of other countries in the region, including western areas of China
The event, like spring, is about the renewal of nature and life itself. Before the day, trees are pruned, fields and homes are cleaned. On the Wednesday before the holiday, fire-jumping - a purification rite - attracts people of all ages. The fire's ashes are disposed of later, symbolically representing past hardships that are now laid to rest.
The Azeris threw the first party in Beijing last week and were kind enough to invite me when they learned of my interest in the occasion. After making a short welcoming speech, the ambassador took the lid off a great kettle of roasted lamb cooked with rice, carrots and peas, and the feast began. Two beautiful young ladies in flowing gowns of red and sea-green performed an exhibition dance. Then the men took the floor in a cheerful display of footwork that got faster and faster.
I left the fun early - it was a work night for me - so I didn't get to join the folks who finished the evening by jumping through the bonfire.
I've been trying to get to Iran or Afghanistan for this holiday since 2006, and I'm optimistic I'll make it next year.
As I enjoyed several holiday events with friends here from Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, I was also listening as US President Barack Obama made his second overture to Iranians in as many holidays.
While I thought his words were fine, I wished he'd adopted China's advice and reached for a breakthrough in the dialogue. For instance, what if he had been able to dispatch a personal emissary with his message this year: Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Why Gates and not, say, a top diplomat?
Because the Pentagon chief made a fascinating comment near the end of his days with the Bush administration. He said understanding between the two countries would be much better if more Americans visited Iran.
The remark was not widely reported, though it naturally drew some cynical remarks about what kind of Americans Gates might send there. (US troops, perhaps?)
But I think Gates got it exactly right. So did Iran's president Mahmood Ahmadinejad when he visited New York that year. In US network TV interviews, he said Iran had a vigorous tourism industry and he wished more Americans would come to visit.
All of that is in the spirit of Mark Twain, the 19th-century writer who famously said that you can't travel and stay ignorant about the world.
Which is not to say Mr. Gates is ignorant about the world. Far from it.
But while Iran-US relations are a burning issue, wouldn't it be great to see the US Secretary of Defense jump over the fire?
Mike Peters is international news editor for China Daily. E-mail: Michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn
Click for more information on the holiday from the Embassy of Azerbaijan
