The sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west on this day, making day and night equal in length. In 2009, UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, listed the holiday on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, noting that it “promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness.” March 21 is officially recognized as International Nowruz Day, though the holiday itself is celebrated between March 19 and 22, depending on calendars and vernal equinox calculations.Vernal translates to “new” and “fresh,” and the word equinox comes from the Latin words aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, meaning “night.” It’s also an official holiday in Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia’s Bayan-Ölgii province, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and it’s widely celebrated in places like Turkey, Indian and other places with Persian enclaves. ( Related: This ancient Persian empire once captured a Roman emperor.) But those attempts failed, and Nowruz is now celebrated as an official state holiday in Iran. After Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the new government attempted to suppress the festival out of fear it might detract from the state religion. Nowruz has proven resilient in the modern era, too. Shapur Shahbazi notes in Encyclopedia Iranica, it only came into effect in the last century. Though Nowruz is old, the table tradition isn’t: As A. The table also can include a Koran, eggs, mirrors, and poetry. These include seed sprouts (usually wheat, oats and other seeds, which symbolize rebirth), senjed (also known as silverberry or Persian olive, which is thought to spark love), garlic (protection), apple (fertility), sumac (love), vinegar (patience), and samanu, a pudding made of sprouted wheat (affluence). Haft means “seven” and “seen” is “s” in Farsi, and all of the items start with the letter. Households set up tables covered with seven symbolic items they call haft-seen. ![]() The spring festival’s focus is fertility and new life, so it’s appropriate that many revelers celebrate with seeds and eggs. People also visit cemeteries and bring offerings for the dead, whom some believe visit before the spring rite begins. On the last Wednesday before Nowruz, many celebrate Charshanbe Suri, a night in which they jump over fire or go to doors banging spoons to scare away bad luck. ![]() (In this episode of our podcast Overheard, we chat with National Geographic photographer Babak Tafreshi about the shimmering origins of this ancient Persian holiday that encourages us to make poetic connections between life and death. In the leadup to the holiday, people perform ritual dances and fill vessels in their home with water, which is associated with health, in an attempt to banish bad luck. Traditionally celebrated on the vernal equinox, many begin preparations for Nowruz weeks in advance. ( Here's how Persia became the world's first true empire.) What is Nowruz and how is it celebrated? The holiday survived the Islamic conquest of Persia in the seventh century and the decline of Zoroastrianism’s popularity, and it spread across the globe through the diaspora of Persian people throughout history. Its roots are as a feast day in Zoroastrianism, a religion practiced in ancient Persia that viewed the arrival of spring as a victory over darkness. Nowruz has been celebrated in Iran and the Persian diaspora for more than 3,000 years. Nowruz-which means “new day”-is a holiday marking the arrival of spring and the first day of the year in Iran, whose solar calendar begins with the vernal equinox. ![]() But for 300 million people around the world, it’s the beginning of a new year, too. For the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 is the first day of spring.
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