A Happy Celebration

Celebration

Iraqi Kurdish girls dance around fire as they celebrate the Kurdish Nowruz spring festival in the town of Akri, north of Baghdad. Despite raging violence which killed 100 people in two days, Iraqis were celebrating the festival which fell a day after the nation marked the fourth anniversary of the US-led invasion. Meanwhile, Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi called for talks with the country's insurgent groups. (AFP/Safin Hamed)

Please note: they were not celebrating the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq any more than the peace activists are when we hold a rally. But they are celebrating the start of spring, and I just loved the colorful costumes these young girls are wearing, and seeing them dance and celebrate life.