Nowruz Festival
Nowruz, the first day of the Iranian solar year, i.e., the first of Farvardin, is the celebration of the beginning of the new Iranian year and the cornerstone of ancient Iranian festivals. It occurs at the start of spring, known as the vernal equinox, when the sun’s rays strike the Earth perpendicularly at the equator, and day and night are approximately equal. Nowruz is the first equinox of the Earth, and Mehregan is the second equinox. For me, this vernal equinox symbolizes balance in both the inner and outer world, and perhaps the greatest teaching of Nowruz is moderation, equality, and harmony.
Nowruz marks the beginning of the year and heralds a new start in life. As winter ends, the sleeping Earth awakens, and the world regains vitality. Nowruz celebrates the rebirth of energy, joy, and light, signaling the renewal of movement and life, inviting us to embrace a fresh and vibrant existence. This ancient ritual seems to call humans to effort and activity, encouraging them to begin a renewed and lively life alongside the Earth. Nowruz is a bringer of joy and, according to ancient belief, any endeavor started on Nowruz is fortunate and auspicious.
Indeed, Nowruz is the celebration of the rebirth of Earth and Time, the awakening of nature, and the festival of human heart and spirit. It gathers people together, sows seeds of empathy, love, and peace among them, and guides them toward goodness, harmony, happiness, effort, and cooperation. These qualities make Nowruz an unparalleled festival. During this time, people are joyful like the Earth, flowers smile, birds sing, clouds shower mercy, and the generous Earth shares its bounty with all.
For this festival, families set the Haft-Sin table, placing on it Senjed (oleaster), apple, Sabzeh (sprouts), Samanu (sweet pudding), garlic, vinegar, and Sumac. Each of these “Sins” carries a symbolic meaning, teaching life lessons and bringing wisdom, capability, patience, hope, and health. People then gather around these tables to offer gratitude, prayers, and blessings, wishing the best for themselves and others as the new year begins.
According to some accounts, the founder of Nowruz is said to be Zoroaster, while others date it back over three thousand years and attribute its founding to Jam, son of Tahmuresh (later known as Jamshid). A story tells that Nowruz marks Jamshid’s great victory over the demons, symbolic of evils like cold, darkness, ignorance, and violence. Following this, Jamshid established justice, civilization, prosperity, happiness, and health. Thus, Jamshid’s Nowruz is a gift of justice and abundance for all. In Iranian mythology, the sun symbolizes justice, covenant, and equilibrium, and Jamshid, on Nowruz—the solar equinox—instituted the law of fairness among the people.
Some historians note that in Islam, particularly in Shia tradition, Nowruz has been regarded as an auspicious day, emphasized for commemoration. According to some narrations, it is also the day of the appearance of the Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance). Today, Nowruz continues as a cultural heritage and national celebration in contemporary Iran. In 2010, the UN General Assembly declared March 21 (Farvardin 1) as the International Day of Nowruz, celebrating it as a culture of peace rooted in Iran, now observed by over three hundred million people. The first international celebration of Nowruz at the UN and UNESCO was hosted by Iran in 1391 (2012).
Today, Nowruz is celebrated across the Middle East, the Balkans, Kazakhstan, Tatarstan, Western China (Chinese Turkestan), Sudan, Zanzibar, Asia Minor, the Caucasus to Astrakhan, North America, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet. My perspective on Nowruz and the philosophy of Haft-Sin today is vastly different from years ago, when, unaware and unlearned, I only welcomed spring with new clothes, shoes, and holidays.
The first realization that struck me was that Nowruz means a “new day,” so beyond new clothes and shoes, I should renew the home of my heart and inner self. Moments before the new year, I sat alone and reflected, asking myself, “Oh lively girl, think of past years and see what remains of the Nowruz celebrations that passed so quickly?” Honestly, I replied: like those years that passed unnoticed, the rest of my life may do the same, and after all these years, only one thing remains: “love and affection.”
I turned the pages of my life to joyful and good chapters. How beautiful it was when I treated others with kindness, humility, and generosity, full of hope and gratitude. How beautiful it was when I showered like rain, not asking whether it fell on friend or foe. How beautiful it was when I cast away anger, resentment, and grudges into the ocean of forgiveness, and sat with vibrancy, courage, and honesty at a table of peace and reconciliation. How beautiful were the moments of spiritual devotion, seeking meaning with trust and faith in the Creator, seeing only Him as complete and absolute. These beautiful moments nourished my heart with positive feelings.
Indeed, this benevolent feeling, kindness, and true love were born in moments where humanity, virtue, wisdom, insight, reflection, fairness, and understanding prevailed. I realized that in life, only love accompanied by wisdom and prudence endures. However, when reviewing the unpleasant chapters of life filled with ugliness and unkindness, feelings of regret and self-reproach arose, questioning why I could not master my own ego or overcome the seven trials of Rostam with love. I saw times when, instead of forgiveness and tolerance, I made unjust judgments out of arrogance or failed to treat everyone equally. Woe to me, realizing how a single word broke a heart. These negative pages radiated such a strong impact that I resolved, in the new year, to close these chapters forever and never repeat them, leaving only the feeling of love and kindness for myself and others.
These spiritual moments before Nowruz taught me that, to embrace spring, one must walk in fields of peace and health, with humanity and virtue, to carry the enduring sense of spring within.
I tell you now that Nowruz is a festival for all. Even with minimal means, one can prepare a table that profoundly affects our lives, inspiring new visions, plans, and shaping a better future.
Indeed, Nowruz is both a practical and philosophical lesson in life, narrating a spiritual transformation with human-centered logic, step by step revealing the wisdom and ultimate philosophy of life—a logic full of love for beauty, compassion, altruism, purity, kindness, and humanity. It is our duty to nurture these customs and traditions to preserve culture, solidarity, and unity of our beloved homeland. The growth of a land depends on preserving the positive aspects of its culture and maintaining cultural diversity. We must safeguard this noble tradition, which teaches harmonious living through the vernal equinox. The international recognition of Nowruz by the UN calendar signifies a hopeful and meaningful acknowledgment of this enduring human festival.
Nowruz is the oldest, most resilient, and joyful root connecting Iranians to their land, symbolizing the consolidation of Iranian identity. This identity is so strong that, when sitting around the Haft-Sin table, from Afghanistan to Russia, everyone shares one voice, one goal, and one thought, celebrating together and connecting generations through a wise ritual, heralding goodness, purity, freedom, and prosperity.
Thus, these customs, which preserve society, strengthen collective spirit, and foster national solidarity, remain prominent in thought and vision, and neither time nor circumstances can diminish their value. This new day, inherited from our ancestors, has taken root so deeply in society that no other tradition can rival it. Its fruits are unity of hearts, harmony, happiness, cohesion, and peace, guiding us to embrace the vernal equinox with determination and vigor, beginning a renewed cycle of life.
It is no coincidence that this ancient legacy, long forgotten, always revitalizes future generations, and its influence remains undiminished. Have you ever considered how bleak and lifeless Iranian life would be without Nowruz? Life, with Nowruz, multiplies joy. One of Nowruz’s unique achievements is that it does not simply distribute happiness; it amplifies joy among humans and spreads it universally, regardless of color, race, belief, or gender. Today, all Nowruz celebrants worldwide—men, women, young, and old—are united, raising their voices together:
Rise and do not grieve over the fleeting world,
Sit and spend a moment in joy.
