Iranians celebrate their new year in March, marking the exact arrival of spring’s vernal equinox. The festival of Nowruz, meaning new day, is a secular festival that’s also celebrated in Iran’s neighbouring countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This year, March 21 will be the beginning of 1393, in the Persian Calendar.
The time and date of Nowruz varies every year but the same traditions are always observed – beginning with fire jumping on the last Tuesday of the old year and ending with a national picnic on the 13th day of the new year. The festival centres around the Haft Sin arrangement, where seven items, all beginning with the sound of ‘S’ in Persian, are placed on a table or the floor to symbolise health, prosperity and renewed life.
Source: Guardian
