Festivities are under way for Nowruz, popularly known as the Persian New Year.
Believed to have been celebrated for more than 3,000 years, the festival is held on the spring equinox to usher in the blooming season. Around 300 million people celebrate the occasion, though the start dates can vary between countries.
It can be traced back to the ancient religion Zoroastrianism but has evolved to become a secular celebration, observed by people with Silk Road roots, including those from Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Kurds across the Middle East.
Nowruz is a combination of the Farsi words “now”, meaning “new”, and “ruz”, meaning “day”.
When is Nowruz?
The start of Nowruz varies in different countries because of time zones. It is marked during the vernal equinox, or the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the festival starts on Thursday, March 20, in Iran.
Similar to last year, Iranian artist Pendar Yousefi has created a Google Doodle for the occasion. The artwork incorporates elements central to Nowruz traditions, such as the haft-sin table, a display of seven symbolic items each beginning with the Persian letter “sin”. These are sprouts for rebirth, wheat pudding for strength, olives for love, berries for the sunrise, vinegar for patience, apples for beauty and garlic for health.
There are also depictions of activities during Nowruz, such as spring cleaning to prepare for a fresh start, decorating eggs, and even leaping over a bonfire, which is believed to cleanse energy from the previous year and invite vitality in the future. The Google Doodle appeared on the search engine on Thursday in several countries, including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, the UK and Canada.
Celebrating Nowruz was added to the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Updated annually, the list by the UN agency safeguards traditions and ways of living in the face of increasing globalisation. In 2010, the UN declared March 21 as International Nowruz Day.
How is Nowruz celebrated?
Festivities typically run for two weeks. While there are many unique traditions connected to the celebration around the world, almost all communities will mark the day with a feast and by spending time with family and friends.
People also give their homes a spring clean, buy auspicious items such as fish and flowers, and decorate their doors and windows with flowers.
Many set their tables based on haft-sin. While buying sweets and nuts is common, most people also have certain go-to dishes during Nowruz, including sabzi polo mahi, or herbed rice with fish. It is traditionally served as the first meal of the new year in Iran.
In Kurdish households, dolma or rice-stuffed vegetables, are a staple. Popular sweets include raisin and walnut cookies, and nan-e nokhodchi or Persian chickpea cookies.
To celebrate, people light bonfires, set off fireworks and send wish lanterns floating into the night sky. Others jump over and around fires, chanting: “My yellow is yours, your red is mine,” invoking the replacement of ills with warmth and energy.
In more regional celebrations, people in Kyrgyzstan display traditional horsemanship to mark the arrival of the new year.
Greetings during the festival include “Happy Nowruz” and “Nowruz Mubarak”.
Nowruz during Ramadan
While Nowruz is a secular festival for many of the communities that celebrate it, it remains a holy day for Zoroastrians and people of the Baha'i Faith.
This year, however, it falls during Ramadan when Muslims fast during the day. In Iran, tourism minister Reza Salehi Amiri said that Nowruzgahs – cultural events held to mark Nowruz – will be held after the evening iftar meals until midnight.
“We have formed a dedicated committee to ensure that Nowruzgah activities align with the sanctity of Ramadan while maintaining the celebratory essence of Nowruz,” he told state news agency Irna.
