Nowrouz

Domain:Social practices, rituals and festive events

State: Across India

Description:

Novruz, Nowrouz, Nooruz, Navruz, Nauroz, Nevruz is celebrated on 21st of March, which is considered as the Iranian New Year and the beginning of Spring. Nav’ means new and ‘roz’ means year i.e. Navroz is Persian/ Iranian New Year. It marks the day of vernal equinox which falls on March 20th or 21st each year. Navroz has a Zoroastrian origin going back to the ancient period in Persia. In India, Navroz is celebrated by the Parsi community who are followers of the Zoroastrian religion. The Parsi population currently in India roughly comprises of 60,000 people, out of which 40,000 approximately would participate. Alongside, in India it is also celebrated by the 'Bahai' community and the Kashmiris who call it ' Navreh'. It is called Jamshedi Navroz here because, according to a legend, the fabled King Jamshed of Persia was crowned on this very day which marked the beginning of the Persian calendar. To celebrate Navroz, people wear new clothes and clean and decorate their houses with flowers. They also make rangoli using colors. One of the most important aspects of the celebrations is food. Family members gather around a table on which food and gifts are kept and wait for the arrival of New Year, the exact time when the sun crosses the equator. The timing varies every year. Traditionally, and especially in Iran, the table is known as a Haft-seen (‘seven s’) table. Seven dishes with starting with the letter 's' are prepared. This includes somaq (berries), sharab (wine), sheer (milk), seer (garlic), sirceh (vinegar), seb (apple) and shirini (sugar candy).