Nowruz, the 3,500-year-old holiday : meaning, celebration and everything!

Nowruz is the 13-day long annual festival which indicates the start of spring. Millions of people all over the world who have roots in the former Persian Empire celebrates this festival. Nowruz is mainly a festival of Muslims, Muslim devotees celebrates this festival. Today we will talk about the history of Nowruz, how it is celebrated, and every other details about this Persian new year day.

What is Nowruz in Islam? Nowruz meaning and Nowruz Celebration in India:

Nowruz is a 13-day long celebration of the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. It is generally celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, this ia usually takes place on March 21. This is a festival of spiritual renewal and physical rejuvenation, spirit of gratitude for blessings and outlook of hope and optimism. Nowruz is originated in the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism, which also predates Christianity and Islam. Although It is prevalent throughout the Islamic world, and closely associated with Iran, but some say that it is not a Muslim festival.

The great King Jamshed used a throne that was studded with precious gems . He rose to the heavens on the shoulders of demons and there he shone brighter than the sun. For this reason, a new day was born that was named as Navroz. This festival is celebrated with a variety of simple but authentic and natural traditions. The people who celebrates Nowroz , do a thorough cleaning of homes, which is called “Khooneh Tekooni”. This is actually a way to mark the importance of cleanliness.

Then people gather for some special meals, they exchange wishes, and visit each other’s homes. Families gather around tables, they decorate the table with objects which symbolize purity, brightness, livelihood, and wealth. Some foods are associated with Nowruz, such as Samanu, Sabzi polo, and sweets like Nan-e-Nokhodchi. Some symbolic preparations with fire and water also happens.  Ritual dances like, jumping over fires, are used to symbolise the bad experiences from the previous year.

Indian people celebrates Nowroz twice in a year!

In India, the most prominent Navroz celebrations happens in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Because the most amount of  Parsi population lives in these two states. Although this festival is celebrated in March globally, but Navroz arrives 200 days later in India and is celebrated in the month of August. This happens because the Parsis here follow the Shahenshahi calendar and this doesn’t account for leap years. So, in India, people celebrate Nowruz twice a year, first according to the Iranian calendar and the second according to the Shahenshahi calendar.