Iran prepares to celebrate the Persian New Year
Whilst in the Northern Hemisphere, as March bows out and heralds the first day of spring during the vernal equinox, for 300 million people around the world, it’s the start of the new year as well.
Nowruz has been celebrated in the Persian diaspora for more than 3,000 years. The day is always celebrated during the spring equinox and, in 2023, it is being observed on Sunday, March 20. Here’s what you need to know about the festival.
Nowruz means “new day” and is a holiday marking the arrival of spring and the first day of the year in Iran. It originates from Zoroastrianism, a religion practised in ancient Persia (now Iran) that saw the arrival of spring as a victory over darkness.
The holiday was maintained after the Islamic conquest of Persia in the seventh century and the decline of Zoroastrianism’s popularity. According to the United Nations, Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.
It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness. It contributes to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.
Celebrating Nowruz means the affirmation of life in harmony with nature, awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal, and a solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life.
Nowruz has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the general area of Iran. New Year is often a time when people wish for prosperity and new beginnings.
On the last Wednesday before Nowruz, many celebrate Charshanbe Suri, a night in which people 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.
Source: eNCA
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