Parsi New Year-Nowruz

In most of the Indian states new is celebrated in the middle of April however, there is a community whose new year is celebrated in the month of March. India is a country of festivals and we are familiar to thousands of common, not-so-common or uncommon festivals here. And during spring we observe many such festivals among which a not-so-common one is Nowruz which is the Parsi new year and is celebrated at the end of March.

History

Nowruz is the official name of Persian New year. The word means New Day; Now = New and Ruz=Day. The day is the first day of the spring in Northern Hemisphere. As soon as the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes day night, the Parsi families round the world gathered together. It is the time for their celebration. The time is marked as their new year. On this particular day Parsis perform several religious ritual and celebrate the day with their families.

The Celebration

In our country, Parsis mostly stay in the western states like Gujrat or Maharastra. The Parsi new year is celebrated here as Jamshed Navroz by the Parsi community. The festival occurs on the first day of the first month of Fasli Calendar – the very one followed by the Parsis. In India, Navroz is celebrated with immense fun and excitement by the Parsi community. They perform special rituals and rites with full devotion on this particular day. On this special day, all Parsi families gather at one place and enjoy each other’s company. They used to celebrate the new year with their family which is also a symbol of togetherness.

In India, food is a prime part of celebration. The most common dish that Parsis enjoy on this day is chicken farcha. It is a typical fried chicken dish. Among desert, the common items are falooda desert and Lagan-nu-custard desert. The first one is a sweet milk dish made from vermicelli and the second one is caramel custard.

Here is a glimpse of such celebration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOLSK0QbrN4