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Mar 19, 2024 · Nowruz – Persian New Year. Nowruz is a holiday marking the Persian New Year and the first day of spring. Originating more than 3,000 years ago, the 13-day festival symbolizes renewal...
Mar 19, 2024 · When exactly Nowruz begins thus varies across countries, depending on time zones. This year, it takes place at 26 seconds past 6.36 a.m., March 20, in Tehran, Iran (11:06 p.m., March 19, EDT).
A haft-sin arrangement, traditionally displayed for Nowruz in Iran. Nowruz ( Persian: نوروز [noːˈɾuːz]) [note 1] is the Iranian or Persian New Year [28] [29] celebrated by various ethnic groups worldwide. It is a festival based on the spring equinox [30] —which marks the first day of the new year in the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar ...
- Around 20 March; can vary between 19 and 22 March, 2023: 20 March
- Cultural
- Annual
Mar 24, 2024 · Nowruz, meaning “new day” in Persian (or Fārsī), occurs on the spring equinox, which is the first day of the month of Farvardīn on the Iranian calendar. The holiday usually falls on March 21 on the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations has declared March 21 as International Nowruz Day.
- Overview
- What is Nowruz and how is it celebrated?
- Who celebrates Nowruz?
Nowruz, also known as Persian New Year, has been observed for more than 3,000 years as the victory of spring over darkness.
For the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 is the first day of spring. But for 300 million people around the world, it’s the beginning of a new year, too. Nowruz—which means “new day”—is a holiday marking the arrival of spring and the first day of the year in Iran, whose solar calendar begins with the vernal equinox.
Traditionally celebrated on the vernal equinox, many begin preparations for Nowruz weeks in advance. In the leadup to the holiday, people perform ritual dances and fill vessels in their home with water, which is associated with health, in an attempt to banish bad luck.
Podcast: Nowruz and the Night Sky
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(In this episode of our podcast Overheard, we chat with National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi about the shimmering origins of this ancient Persian holiday that encourages us to make poetic connections between life and death. Listen now on Apple Podcasts.)
On the last Wednesday before Nowruz, many celebrate Charshanbe Suri, a night in which they jump over fire or go to doors banging spoons to scare away bad luck. People also visit cemeteries and bring offerings for the dead, whom some believe visit before the spring rite begins.
The spring festival’s focus is fertility and new life, so it’s appropriate that many revelers celebrate with seeds and eggs. Households set up tables covered with seven symbolic items they call haft-seen. Haft means “seven” and “seen” is “s” in Farsi, and all of the items start with the letter. These include seed sprouts (usually wheat, oats and other seeds, which symbolize rebirth), senjed (also known as silverberry or Persian olive, which is thought to spark love), garlic (protection), apple (fertility), sumac (love), vinegar (patience), and samanu, a pudding made of sprouted wheat (affluence). The table also can include a Koran, eggs, mirrors, and poetry.
Nowruz has proven resilient in the modern era, too. After Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new government attempted to suppress the festival out of fear it might detract from the state religion. But those attempts failed, and Nowruz is now celebrated as an official state holiday in Iran. (Related: This ancient Persian empire once captured a Roman emperor.)
It’s also an official holiday in Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia’s Bayan-Ölgii province, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and it’s widely celebrated in places like Turkey, Indian and other places with Persian enclaves.
In 2009, UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, listed the holiday on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, noting that it “promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness.” March 21 is officially recognized as International Nowruz Day, though the holiday itself is celebrated between March 19 and 22, depending on calendars and vernal equinox calculations.
Editor's note: This story was originally published on March 19, 2020. It has been updated.
Mar 15, 2023 · Usually, this is between 19-21 March, depending on astronomical calculations. This year, it is due to begin on 20 March a little after 7am Tehran local time.
Mar 21, 2023 · Nowruz – No-Ruz or Farsi for “new day” – is an ancient festival celebrating the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 300 million people celebrate the Persian New Year ...
