KABUL: Traditional Afghan Nauroz, or New Year, celebrations once banned by the Taliban regime, are enjoying a strong resurgence.

Many here will mark the day, which coincides with the vernal equinox, with traditional food and lots of jalaibi, a popular candy. Families will gather for picnics in the hills surrounding Kabul and in city parks where they will spend the day relaxing and flying kites.

The day is also special for couples who got engaged a year ago, because it is traditionally one of the few days of the year on which the prospective bride and groom meet, especially under arranged marriages.

For some, the festivities will continue into the next day, celebrated as "farmer's day", when farmers and villagers engage in traditional agricultural customs.

Despite the resurgence of these customs, some religious leaders continue to condemn these New Year activities as sinful and blasphemous, largely because their origin is rooted in pagan, pre-Islamic times.

However, people like Zaman, 25, a military officer from Parwan province in north Afghanistan who is currently stationed in Kabul, said he plans to join in the celebrations.

Speaking to IWPR Zaman said: "I plan to spend the day celebrating my engagement with my fiancee's family in the hope that the day will bring good luck to me. I feel very happy."

Imamuddin, 57, a Kabul jalaibi maker, said his business boomed last week as city residents flocked to his shop.

"I have been selling jalaibis for 40 years," he said. "

Nafes Gul, 44, said she would celebrate the day by giving gifts, eating traditional food and wearing new clothes and cosmetics.

"There is no Taliban to stop us now," she said. Khalida, 27, remembers how she marked her engagement on Nauroz three years ago when the Taliban were still in power.

But many traditionalists like Agha say they would abandon their celebrations if told to do so by local religious leaders.

In fact, even through the Taliban are gone and many Afghans look forward to the new year's festivities, the question of whether it's appropriate to mark the holiday is still hotly debated by religious scholars and leaders.-Dawn/The IWPR News Service.