Nowruz

Nowruz, the Iranian New Year celebration, begins on March 29th and is considered the most important holiday in Iran.

Also known as: Nowruz, Norouz, Iranian New Year Nowruz or Nowruz (meaning “New Day”) is the Iranian New Year celebrated by various ethnic-linguistic groups around the world as the start of the new year. Despite its Iranian and Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz is celebrated by people from various ethnic-linguistic communities. It has been celebrated for over 3000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, and the Balkans.

This is a secular holiday for most celebrants, enjoyed by people of various religions, but it remains a sacred day for Zoroastrians. Nowruz, the Iranian New Year celebration, begins on March 29th and is considered the most important holiday in Iran. Nowruz marks the spring equinox and the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It falls on the first day of the first month (Farvardin) in the Iranian calendar.

Usually observed on March 21st or the day before or after, depending on where it is observed. The moment of the sun’s passage over the equator and the equality of night and day is precisely calculated each year, and families gather to observe this ceremony. Nowruz marks the beginning of the new year in the official Iranian calendar, the Solar Hijri calendar.

The current calendar system was adopted by the Iranian parliament on March 31st, 1925. Chaharshanbe Suri is an Iranian festival held on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz. Iranian New Year celebrations last for two weeks, beginning with the Fire Festival (Chaharshanbe Suri), which includes four official public holidays from the first to the fourth of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian calendar (usually falling on March 21st to 24th). Ancient Roots: While it is unclear whether pre-Indo-Iranians celebrated a festival as the first day of the calendar year, there is evidence that Iranians may have marked the beginning of autumn and spring with harvest festivals.

Nowruz has somewhat of a connection to the traditions of Iranian religions such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. The ancient Iranian spring festival, Nowruz, meaning “New Day,” is celebrated not only in Iran but also throughout Central Asia as the start of the new year. In the Mithraic tradition, festivals had a deep connection to the light of the sun. Further reading on Iranian festivals like Mehregan (autumnal equinox), Tirgan, and Shab-e Chelleh (winter solstice) also had their roots in the worship of the sun god (Suria).

Among other beliefs, Zoroastrianism is the first monotheistic religion that emphasizes broad concepts such as the dualism of good and evil in the world and the connection of humans to nature. Zoroastrian practices have predominated in most of ancient Iranian history. In Zoroastrianism, the six major festivals are Gahambar and Nowruz, which are held during the spring equinox. Achaemenid Period: It is said that the famous complex of Persepolis or at least the Apadana Palace and the Hall of Hundred Columns were built for the celebration of a Nowruz festival. While the word “Nowruz” may not appear in surviving Achaemenid inscriptions, Greek historian Xenophon reports a detailed account of the Nowruz celebration at Persepolis, indicating the continuity of this festival in Achaemenid tradition.

A significant day during the time of the Achaemenids (around 550 to 330 BCE), the importance of this ceremony in the Achaemenid Empire was such that the appointment of Cambyses II as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the annual Achaemenid festival. Therefore, it was a very auspicious occasion for the people of ancient Iran.

Nowruz festivities took place in cultural heritage sites such as Pasargadae and Persepolis in 539 BCE when the Jews came under Iranian rule, exposing both groups to each other’s customs and traditions. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Purim story recounted in the Book of Esther is derived from an Iranian romance about the cunning of harem queens, suggesting that Purim may be a transformation of the Iranian New Year. No specific romance has been identified, and the Encyclopaedia Britannica itself notes that “no Jewish text of this genre from the Achaemenid period survives, so these new elements can only be inferred.” The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics notes that Purim is based on the lunar calendar, while Nowruz occurs on the vernal equinox (the solar calendar). Therefore, these two holidays are celebrated on different dates, but depending on the year, they can be weeks apart. Given their temporal proximity, Jews and Iranians may have shared or adopted similar customs for these holidays. Haft-Seen: Haft-Seen (lit. “Seven S’s”) is a set of seven symbolic items whose names begin with the letter “S” (سین) in Persian alphabet. Traditionally, during Nowruz, the Iranian New Year’s Day, celebrated on the spring equinox, symbolizing the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

Haft-Seen is a collection of seven symbolic items whose names begin with the letter “س” (Seen), which is the fifteenth letter of the Persian alphabet pronounced “seen”. Locations: Nowruz is celebrated by various groups of people in the Caspian Sea Basin, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Western Asia, Central Asia, and Iranians worldwide. However, places where Nowruz is an official holiday include: Iran (13 days), Iraqi Kurdistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan (4 days), Azerbaijan (5 days), Turkmenistan (2 days), Kazakhstan (4 days), Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Georgia, Mongolia, and Kosovo. Nowruz is celebrated throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and beyond. Countries that celebrate Nowruz include Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Albania. Uncle Nowruz and Haji Firuz: In Iran, traditional heralds of the Nowruz holiday are Uncle Nowruz and Haji Firuz, who appear on the streets every year for the New Year celebration.

Uncle Nowruz, much like his Christian counterpart Santa Claus, brings gifts for children every year. He is the husband of Nane Sarma, with whom he shares a traditional love story in which they can only meet once a year. He is depicted as a silver-bearded elderly man wearing a felt hat and carrying a cane, a long blue coat, a platter, a jug with a narrow neck, and linen pants. Haji Firuz (or Khaje Piruz) and Uncle Nowruz (also known as Baba Nowruz) are iconic figures in Iranian popular culture. Haji Firuz, with his soot-covered face and hands, red clothes, and felt hat, is a companion to Uncle Nowruz. Find out more He dances in the streets while singing and playing the tambourine. In traditional songs, he introduces himself as a peasant trying to encourage people he refers to as his lords.