Nowruz - Persian New Year and a 3,000-year-old tradition

What is Nowruz?

Nowruz means "new day" in Persian, marking the beginning of the new year according to the Persian calendar. This festival, with a history spanning over 3,000 years, originates from Zoroastrianism and signifies the end of darkness and the rebirth of nature. Nowruz usually falls around March 20th or 21st, coinciding with the spring equinox (one of the two times of year when day and night are of equal length, along with the autumnal equinox). Today, Nowruz is celebrated by approximately 300 million people worldwide, particularly in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, as well as in Kurdish, Uyghur, and Parsi communities.

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How is Nowruz organized?

Persians and other ethnic groups celebrating Nowruz have many traditional rituals to welcome the new year in the most complete way. Some common activities include cleaning the house (khane tekani), which signifies discarding the old and welcoming the new. Besides that, Nowruz is also associated with family gatherings, feasts, folk music and dance performances, fireworks, and bonfires. In Afghanistan and Central Asia, traditional nomadic games are also celebrated enthusiastically, creating a lively festive atmosphere.

What's so special about the Nowruz party?

An integral part of Nowruz is the haft-sin table, which displays seven dishes or objects beginning with the Persian letter "S". Each dish symbolizes a special meaning; for example, garlic (seer) represents health, apple (seeb) represents beauty, and vinegar (serkeh) represents patience and perseverance. In addition, the table includes dyed eggs, dried nuts, sweets, fruits, and especially sabzeh – sprouted green wheat grains symbolizing fertility and abundance.

The most popular dishes in Nowruz

Cuisine plays a central role in Nowruz festivals. Each region has its own signature dishes. In Iran, popular dishes include kookoo sabzi (fried eggs with herbs), sabzi polo ba mahi (herbal rice served with fried fish), and reshteh polo (rice mixed with noodles). In Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, plov—a famous mixed rice dish with many variations of meat, vegetables, and spices—is indispensable in Nowruz. Azerbaijanis love kebabs, dolma (grape leaves stuffed with meat), along with desserts such as baklava and shekerbura (nut and cardamom-filled pastries).

In Uzbekistan, sumalak – a sweet porridge made from sprouted wheat – is cooked in large pots according to a special ritual. Afghans often cook sabzi challow (rice served with spinach curry and lamb), kolcheh nowrozi biscuits, and haft mewa – a type of dried fruit porridge. For Kazakhs, Nowruz almost always includes nauryz kozhe, a traditional soup with barley, horse meat, and milk.

If you're interested in trying your hand at Nowruz cuisine, there are several excellent cookbooks to consult. For Persian cuisine, Sabrina Ghayour's Feasts and Yasmin Khan's The Saffron Tales are great choices. If you're interested in Central Asian and Azerbaijani flavors, Caroline Eden & Eleanor Ford's Samarkand offers fascinating recipes. And for Afghan cuisine, try Durkhanai Ayubi's Parwana.

How can I participate in the Nowruz festival?

If you're in London, some restaurants hosting Nowruz parties include Bergamot, Plateful Cafe, Berenjak, and Tehran-Berlin. In other cities across England, you can visit Konj Cafe (Edinburgh) and Parisa Events (Cardiff) to experience the festive atmosphere.

Even if you can't participate in person, you can still immerse yourself in the Nowruz atmosphere by decorating your home, cooking traditional dishes, and enjoying a New Year's feast with your family. Nowruz is not only an occasion to start a new year with good fortune, but also an opportunity to learn about an ancient culture with profound values ​​regarding nature and people.

Wang Long