1, But people began celebrating Nowruz more openly again after the militant group was toppled by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

2, Nowruz is celebrated in many countries, like Afghanistan, that were once part of the powerful Persian empire.

3, An Afghan boy swings on the occasion of Nowruz,(http:///nowruz.html) held at the Sakhi Shrine in Kabul on March 21.

4, Aishya, an Afghan girl, watches a Nowruz ceremony at the Sakhi Shrine from a mountaintop near Kabul.

5, Afghans dance outside of the Sakhi Shrine on the occasion of Nowruz in Kabul on March 21.

6, Sitting in a graveyard, Afghans watch the rising of the holy mace outside of Sakhi Shrine on the occasion of Nowruz, which means "new day, " in Kabul on March 21.

7, Horsemen compete for a goat carcass during a game of Buzkashi to celebrate Nowruz in Mazar-i Sharif in northern Afghanistan on March 21.

8, A boy watches the Sakhi Shrine on the occasion of Nowruz in Kabul on March 21.

9, Afghans descend a mountain after watching the rising of holy mace in Sakhi Shrine on the occasion of Nowruz, a new year ceremony, in Kabul.

10, An Afghan guard of honor watches the new year celebrations at Hazrat-i Ali shrine in Mazar-i Sharif, the center of Afghan New Year Nowruz celebrations.