new Delhi: Honoring Nowruz, the Persian spring festival, Google doodles flowers of flowers and the Iranian instrument tar on March 20. Nowruz is a 13-day festival and begins with the spring equinox, when the sun crosses the equator.
Nowruz is considered to be one of the oldest festivals in history, dating back 3000 years. The festival symbolizes rebirth and the affirmation of life in harmony with nature. The word Nowruz is derived from a combination of the Persian words ab-meaning ‘new’ and rouz-meaning ‘day’.
Nowruz is rooted in the tradition of Iranian religions such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. The foundation of the Iranian mythology, Nowruz, is attributed to the Iranian king Jamshed by the Shahnama, a long epic poem by the Persian poet Firdausi between 977 and 1010 CE. According to the poem, King Jamshed created a throne of gems to save mankind from cold—which is destined to kill every living creature—he raised the demons to heaven where he sat like the sun.
The beginning of the festival consists of the usual rituals like deep cleaning of the house, meeting friends, neighbors and preparation of traditional dishes like fish and special sweets. On the day of Nowruz, people from all over the world indulge in festivals, feasts and enjoy outdoor activities.
Although the Nauruz festival is celebrated around the world around 20 March, the Parsi community in India celebrates it in August as they follow the Shahanshahi calendar which does not have a leap year. However, most of the traditions remain the same.