Zarafshan Shiraz, New Delhi
Navroz, also known as Nowruz or Parsi New Year, marks the beginning of spring and the renewal of nature and is celebrated by different cultures and communities around the world, including in India but many remain confused about the date of the festival as it is celebrated twice a year in India. The festival of Navroz or Jamshed-i-Navroz/Jamshed-i-Nouroz is named after the Persian king, Jamshed, who is credited for creating the Persian or the Shahenshahi calendar and as per the legend, Jamshed saved the world from an apocalypse that came in the form of a winter and destined to kill everyone.
King Jamshed used a throne studded with precious gems and rose to the heavens on the shoulders of demons where he shone brighter than the sun hence, a new day was born which was named as Navroz. The Parsis, a Zoroastrian community, celebrate Navroz to commemorate their New Year which typically falls around the vernal equinox i.e. around March 21 and it is an important occasion for Parsis to come together, wear new clothes, decorate their homes, offer prayers and enjoy festive meals.
The most prominent Navroz celebrations take place in Maharashtra and Gujarat in India on account of a sizeable Parsi population living in the two states but though celebrated in March globally, Navroz arrives 200 days later in India and is celebrated in the month of August as the Parsis here follow the Shahenshahi calendar that doesn’t account for leap years. Interestingly in India, people celebrate it twice a year – first according to the Iranian calendar and the second according to the Shahenshahi calendar which is followed by people here and in Pakistan.
Hence, the Parsi New Year i.e. the festival of Navroz falls between July and August where ‘Nav’ in Persian stands for ‘new’ while ‘Roz’ means ‘day’ that literally translates to ‘new day’ and this year, Parsi New Year will be observed in India on August 16. This tradition of celebrating Parsi New Year is believed to have been observed by Iranians and Zorastian for the past 3,000 years as it marks the beginning of the Iranian calendar and is celebrated till date by the Parsi community around the world with great pomp and show.
