Baku, Azerbaijan, March 22
By Emil Ilgar - Trend:
As Iran's President Hassan Rouhani was congratulating Iranians on the occasion of Nowruz (Novruz), a small fish tank, filled with little water and with an orange inside, instead of a fish, could be seen on a table by his side.
Nowruz, which is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide, is the first day of spring. This holiday also coincides with the start of the New Year in Iran.
Each year, Iranians prepare a traditional table of Nowruz with seven symbols, the names of all starting with the letter 'S', as well as other items like mirror.
However, during the last decades, Iranians have been putting fish tanks with fishes inside along with those items on their tables.
Iran's vice president and head of the Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar interpreted Rouhani's Nowruz table symbols in a post on her Facebook page.
"President Rouhani put an orange into the tank to remind us that we shouldn't violate the animals' freedom for our enjoyment," she said.
"A little water in the tank also tells us to appreciate the value of water," added Ebtekar.
Iran has strongly suffered from water shortage.