Parsi New Year 2023: Significance of celebrating the festival Navroz, know its history

New Delhi: The Parsi New Year, also called Navroz or Nowruz, is celebrated in India somewhere between the months of July and August. Traditions surrounding the Parsi New Year, which takes its name from the Persian terms for “new day” (Nav) and “new year” (Roz), are said to have been followed by Iranians and Zoroastrians over the previous 3500 years.

Numerous nations with significant Persian cultural influence commemorate the event around the time of the vernal equinox. These include India, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and certain regions of Central Asia.

However, since the Parsi community in India uses the Shahenshahi calendar, which does not account for leap years, the festival is celebrated 200 days later than it would be on March 21 according to the Gregorian calendar. On August 16, 2023, Indian Parsis will ring in the New Year.

History

It is estimated that the Parsi New Year began around 3,500 years ago. Zoroastrianism (now Iran) was established around this period by the Prophet Zarathustra. According to Zoroastrian beliefs, this day is when the cosmos is reborn each year. The Parsi calendar is traditionally attributed to Jamshed, a monarch of the ancient Sasanian Empire. As a result, Jamshed-I-Nouroz is yet another name for the celebration.

Significance

It is widely believed in India that after death, people’s spirits go back to this world to visit with their loved ones. To be blessed with joy, success, and good fortune, people often offer thanks and ask for blessings.

Parsis worship and honour their ancestors and deceased loved ones throughout the ten days leading up to the festival. It is thought that the departed will bless their living relatives and friends on this day.

Celebrations

Because of their faith in the good fortune of the day, Parsis often use the occasion of the Parsi New Year to start new endeavours. This day is set aside for people across the world to purify their minds, hearts, and bodies. In this way, on the day of Navroz, after having a bath and decorating the home with lovely rangolis, family members think about and pray to their ancestors who have passed away.

Various cuisines are served. Jardaloo chicken, Farcha, Patra Ni Machhi, and Ravo are only a few examples of well-known Parsi cuisine. On this day, many people go to temples to worship. Donations to charity are another common practice. The Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra are particularly enthusiastic in celebrating Navroz.