Nowruz 2021: Know the significance, history and traditions of the Parsi New Year

Nowruz is one of the most popular Parsi and Iranian holidays. The festival is known by many other names such as Nowruz, Novruz, Nooruz, Nevruz and Nauryz. The word Nowruz is an ancient Persian word where 'Now' means new and 'Ruz' means day. So, together the word signifies a new day. Essentially, Nawruz is the Iranian New Year celebrated by the Iranian people. In India, the Parsi people celebrate Nowruz as it's part of their religion. Read on to know Nowruz 2021 date and time. 

Nowruz 2021 Date and Time 

In the year 2021, Nowruz is going to fall on Saturday, March 20. As per the United Nation's description of this festival, Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March. It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world. People greet each other on this day with the greeting, Nowruz Mubarak. 

Nowruz History 

The Nowruz festival marks the first day of the first month in the Iranian calendar, called Farvardin. This date usually falls on March 21, but this year Nowruz is set to fall on March 20. The date can shift a couple of days behind and forward. Nowruz is a significant festival for the Parsi community as this is they King Jamshid was crowned as the King of Persia. The day of king Jamshid's crowning is considered to be the beginning of the Parsi new year. This is an important day for Parsis to start new relationships and business ventures. 

How is Nowruz Celebrated?

Nowruz is one of the biggest Parsi festivals so the Parsi community spare no expense in celebrating this festival. They purchase new clothes and vehicles, visit their friends and family and bring along food and gifts as offerings. In the evening, families get together and have a bonfire where they light crackers and dance in the light of the fire.

A major part of the celebration includes the Haft sin family dinner, where the whole family gets together for a large meal. This is a symbolic meal where the food items are made out of things that start with the letter sin and there a total of seven of these food items, depicting seven sins or as the Parsis call it Haftseen.