What is Nowruz?
Nowruz, which means “new day” in Persian, marks the beginning of the new year according to the Persian calendar. It is a festival with a history of more than 3,000 years, originating from Zoroastrianism, and signifies the end of darkness and the rebirth of nature. Nowruz usually falls on March 20 or 21, coinciding with the spring equinox (one of two times of the year when day and night are of equal length, along with the autumnal equinox). Today, Nowruz is celebrated by about 300 million people around the world, especially in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, as well as in the Kurdish, Uyghur and Parsi communities.
How is Nowruz celebrated?
Persians and other ethnic groups celebrate Nowruz with many traditional rituals to welcome the new year in the most complete way. Some popular activities include cleaning the house (khane tekani), which means removing old things and welcoming better things. In addition, Nowruz is also associated with family gatherings, festivals, folk music and dance performances, fireworks and bonfires. In Afghanistan and Central Asia, folk games from the nomadic era are also held enthusiastically, creating a bustling festive atmosphere.
Nowruz is associated with family gatherings, festivals, folk music and dance performances, fireworks and bonfires.
What is special about the Nowruz party?
An integral part of Nowruz is the haft-sin table, where seven dishes or objects beginning with the letter "S" in Persian are displayed. Each dish represents a special meaning, such as garlic (seer) symbolizes health, apples (seeb) symbolize beauty, vinegar (serkeh) represents patience and perseverance. In addition, the table also has colored eggs, dried seeds, candies, fruits and especially sabzeh - green sprouted wheat sprouts that symbolize fertility.
Half-sin banquet table
Sabzeh (green sprout), the symbolic image of Nowruz, symbolizes fertility, rebirth and vitality.
Most popular dishes during Nowruz
Food plays a central role in Nowruz celebrations, with each region having its own signature dishes. In Iran, popular dishes include kookoo sabzi (fried eggs with herbs), sabzi polo ba mahi (herb rice served with fried fish), and reshteh polo (rice mixed with noodles). In Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, Nowruz is not complete without plov, a popular mixed rice dish with many variations of meat, vegetables, and spices. Azerbaijanis love kebabs and dolma (stuffed grape leaves), along with desserts like baklava and shekerbura (a nut-cardamom pie).
In Uzbekistan, sumalak – a sweet soup made from sprouted wheat – is cooked in large pots with special rituals. Afghans often cook sabzi challow (rice with spinach and lamb curry), kolcheh nowrozi cookies, and haft mewa – a dried fruit tea. For Kazakhs, Nowruz almost always includes nauryz kozhe, a traditional soup made with barley, horse meat, and milk.
If you want to try your hand at Nowruz cuisine, there are some great cookbooks to check out. For Persian cuisine, Sabrina Ghayour’s Feasts and Yasmin Khan’s The Saffron Tales are great options. If you’re interested in Central Asian and Azerbaijani flavors, Caroline Eden & Eleanor Ford’s Samarkand offers some delicious recipes. For Afghan cuisine, try Durkhanai Ayubi’s Parwana.
Kookoo sabzi, Iranian fried eggs with herbs
Plov, a rice dish mixed with many variations of meat, vegetables and spices from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan
How to participate in Nowruz festival?
If you’re in London, some restaurants hosting Nowruz parties include Bergamot, Plateful Cafe, Berenjak and Tehran-Berlin. In other UK cities, you can visit Konj Cafe (Edinburgh) and Parisa Events (Cardiff) to experience the festive atmosphere.
Even if you can’t attend in person, you can still get into the Nowruz spirit by decorating your home, cooking traditional food, and enjoying a New Year’s feast with your family. Nowruz is not only a time to start a new year with good fortune, but also an opportunity to learn about an ancient culture with profound values about nature and people.
