Parsi New year

 

Parsi New Year 2023: Date, History and Significance

The Parsi New Year, also known as Navroz or Nowruz, is a happy event celebrated between July and August. This year, the Parsi New Year falls on August 16th. It's a special festival that has been observed for over 3,000 years, with its name coming from the Persian words 'Nav' and 'Roz', which mean 'new day'.

The Parsi community in India follows a special calendar called the Shahenshahi calendar, which doesn't have leap years. This means that their celebration date shifts by about 200 days from the usual date that aligns with the global celebration of Navroz on March 21st.

The roots of this festival are connected to Zoroastrianism, which is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. It began more than 3,500 years ago in ancient Iran when a wise person named Prophet Zarathustra introduced this faith. However, around 1,400 years ago, the spread of Islam led many Zoroastrians to leave Iran and settle in India and Pakistan. In these new places, they formed a group known as Parsis.

The festival's origins are linked to the legendary king Jamshed, who is said to have saved the world from a terrible winter.

During the Parsi New Year celebration, the biggest Parsi community in India, found in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, comes together. People pray for good health and prosperity, clean their homes, and decorate them with flowers and colorful designs called rangolis. They wear traditional clothes and visit the fire temple, where they offer items like milk, flowers, fruits, and sandalwood to a sacred fire.

The festival focuses on the Four Fs: fire, fragrance, food, and friendship. People enjoy delicious Parsi dishes, seek forgiveness for the past year's mistakes, cleanse their minds, and welcome the new year with love and harmony.

Parsis cook a variety of dishes like Prawn Patio, Mori Dar, Patra Ni Macchi, Haleem, Akoori, Sali Boti, Saffron Pulao, and Falooda for a grand feast. They make their tables special by adding decorations like a sacred book, a mirror, fragrant sticks, fruits, beautiful flowers, shiny coins, candles, a bowl with a goldfish, and a picture of Prophet Zarathustra.