At 4:21 PM (Pacific) on March 20, 2011, a holiday begins. It lasts for 13 days. The UN's General Assembly created an “International Day of Nowruz” in 2010, registering the holiday on the “UNESCO List ...

This year's celebration of Nowruz was belated, since the holiday occurred on March 20. During the actual holiday, the first family was on a trip to Cuba and Argentina.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hosted regional leaders on Saturday for a celebration of the ancient Persian New Year, in an apparent effort to push political ties to combat Iran's isolation.