Parsi New Year 2019: On the occasion of Navroz, community renews spirit of kindness, patience with hearty feast

Parsi New Year 2019 | Also known as Navroz, Parsi New Year is being celebrated on Saturday (17 August), marking the beginning of the new Iranian calendar. Navroz which means “new day” in Persian, is also known as Jamshedi Navroz after the legendary King of Persia, Jamshed. The tradition, which is speculated to have begun over 3,000 years ago, is observed by Iranians and the Parsi community around the world, and prominently in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat where a sizeable Parsi population stays. [caption id=“attachment_7178031” align=“alignnone” width=“850”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The Parsi community follow the Zoroastrianism religion, one of the oldest known monotheistic religions, which was founded by Prophet Zarathustra in ancient Iran, approximately 3,500 years ago. There is an estimation 2.6 million Zoroastrians living across the world. When do Indians celebrate Navroz? While most part of the world celebrate Navroz on 21 March, in India the Shahenshahi Calendar is followed which does not take leap years into account, which is why Navroz is celebrated, on 17 August. How is Navroz celebrated?  On this occasion, Parsis, who make for around 70,000 people in the country, clean and decorate their houses and wear new clothes. They decorate the doors and windows with garlands of roses and jasmine flowers, and use color powders for creating patterns known as rangoli on the doorsteps of their homes. Renewing spirit of kindness and patience, special food and desserts are prepared for a hearty feast on Parsi New Year. The day is spent by visiting friends and relatives, exchanging festive greetings, gifts and good wishes. In Iran and other parts of the Middle East, Zoroastrians celebrated the Persian New Year using the Fasli/Bastnai calendar, under which the first day of the year is fixed and falls on the Spring Equinox (usually on 21 March).