What is Nowruz festival? Here is everything you need to know about it

This year, Nowruz will be celebrated on March 20, 2020. The United Nations officially recognized Nowruz as an international holiday in 2010. The festival marks the ending of a year and also the beginning of a new year.

Also Read | Steven Spielberg's Version Of 'West Side Story' To Hit The Screens This December

What is Nowruz festival?

Nowruz Festival is the Iranian new year. It is also known as the Persian New Year. This festival is celebrated worldwide with lots of joy and vigour. The origins of this festival are Iranian and Zoroastrian. It is celebrated by diverse communities all over the world for more than 3000 years’ now.

Also Read | LGBTQ Movies To Watch For A Beautiful Take On The Community's Relationships

Though this festival is celebrated worldwide, it is celebrated with more joy and also holds cultural importance in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans and South Asia. Nowruz festival is a secular holiday that is enjoyed by people of many different faiths. It is considered as a holy day for Zoroastrians and Bahais.

Also Read | Can The Coronavirus Live On Paper? Here Is Everything You Need To Know About It

Why is Nowruz festival celebrated?

Nowruz marks the beginning of the new year and it happens on the day of the vernal equinox. Every year, millions of people celebrate the Nowruz festival to celebrate the Iranian new year or Persian new year. In Iran, the new year begins with the advent of spring and almost everyone in the country observes it by doing a thorough cleaning of their homes to celebrate a season of new life and to wish good luck in the year ahead.

Also Read | Actor Joel Edgerton & Toni Collette Forced To Self-isolate In Australia

Some families also set aside a space for ‘Haft-sin’. Before the arrival of Nowruz, family members gather around and await the exact moment of March equinox to celebrate the new year. ‘Haft-sin’ is a collection of items that symbolize different hope for the new year. In India, the tradition dates back to the era of the Mughal empire in Northern India and western India it dates back to the Parsi Zoroastrian community.