Persian New Year Celebration

Three Thousand Years of Tradition!

This photo shows the children and their Moms gathered around the table to celebrate the Persian New Year. The table is always set up with seven items starting with the Persian letter “S”. The setting always includes gold fish, a display of green grass, candles, a mirror, garlic, sumac, a coin and a few other traditional items.

“Nowruz”, which means “new day” in Persian, has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years, and traditionally begins the very moment that the sun crosses the equator on the vernal equinox. The holiday has roots in the ancient Zoroastrian religion and marks the first day of the official Persian calendar.

This year, spring and the Persian New Year started at 3:08 pm on March 20th.