Parsi New Year 2023: Here’s why Indians celebrate Navroz twice in an year

ViaZaraf Son Shiraz

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 people are still confused about the date of the festival. twice a year in India. The festival of Navroz or Jamshed-i-Navroz/Jamshed-i-Nouroz is named after the king of Persia, Jamshed, who is said to have created the Persian calendar or the Shahenshahi calendar and according to legend, Jamshed saved the world. from the apocalypse. comes in the form of a winter and intends to kill everyone.

King Jamshed took a throne inlaid with precious stones and ascended to heaven on the shoulders of demons, where he shone brighter than the sun, from which a new day was born named Navroz. The Parsis, a Zoroastrian community, celebrate Navroz to celebrate their New Year, which usually falls around the spring equinox around March 21 and this is an important occasion for the Parsis to get together, dress up new, decorate the house, pray and enjoy the festival. meal.

The most prominent Navroz celebrations take place in Maharashtra and Gujarat in India due to the large Parsi population living in the two states but although celebrated in March globally, Navroz arrives 200 days later in India and celebrated in August as Parsis here according to the Shahenshahi calendar excluding leap years. Interestingly, in India, people celebrate this festival twice a year – first according to the Iranian calendar and the second time according to the Shahenshahi calendar, then the people here and Pakistan.

Therefore, the New Year of Parsi i.e. the festival of Navroz falls between July and August, where ‘directional‘ in Persian stands for ‘new’ while ‘pink‘ means ‘day’ which literally translates as ‘new day’ and this year, the Parsi New Year will be celebrated in India on August 16. This Parsi New Year tradition is said to have been celebrated by the people. Iran and Zorastian observations over the past 3,000 years. year as it marks the beginning of the Iranian calendar and has been celebrated to this day by the Parsi community around the world with pomp and fanfare.