The Persian New Year or Nowruz as it is commonly called celebrates the onset of spring and the beginning of the Iranian New Year. The word Nowruz means “new day”. This day is celebrated by the Iranian people and it was initiated in ancient Iran. Apart from Iran many other parts of the world also celebrate the Persian New Year. This is includes parts of West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Northwestern China, and some groups of Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Kosova and the Republic of Macedonia.

The Persian New year is celebrated on the day of spring equinox, which usually falls on March 20th, 21st, or 22nd. Some Persian communities celebrate their New Year on the actual day of the equinox, while others celebrate it on a fixed day every year. It is considered one of the most important festivals in the Zoroastrian tradition.

Iran begins the preparations of this day from the last month of winter (as per the Persian calendar). The most important part of the preparations is the cleaning of the house. A complete cleaning of the house is done, followed by buying of new clothes for the special day. They purchase a lot of flowers for the New Year day, the hyacinth and the tulip being the most popular ones.

The Persian New Year is a 12 day celebration, when the people dressed in new clothes visit their families and friends. On the 13th day the families picnic outdoors. They celebrate by indulging themselves in rich food, including cookies, dry fruits, fresh fruits, pastry and special nuts.

The Persians believe that whatever one does on this day has an impact on the coming year. So if an individual is loving and kind to his family and friends his coming year will be good. On the other hand, if there are fights and quarrels in the house, the year will be bad.

The Iranians await the spring time as it brings for them a reason to celebrate and enjoy with their loved ones.