Join the Department of Geography for a Nowruz نوروز Celebration on April 5, 2024, at 5:00 pm in the Guggenheim Building. There will be Music, Dancing, Food, Prizes, and Egg dyeing.

Nowruz (نوروز)–or Farsi for “new day” – is an ancient festival celebrating the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 300 million people celebrate the Persian New Year, which has been observed for more than 3,000 years in different regions, including the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and others.Nowruz is a celebration that marks the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually takes place on March 21. The celebrations last for 13 days, and it’s an opportunity to reflect on the past and set intentions for the future. The festival is rooted in Zoroastrianism, a religion practiced in ancient Persia that predates Christianity and Islam. The Shahnameh, or “Book of Kings” is  an epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE.  In this poem Ferdowsi credits the foundation of Nowruz to the mythical Iranian King Jamshid, who saves mankind from a winter destined to kill every living creature. To defeat the killer winter, Jamshid constructed a throne studded with gems. He had demons raise him above the earth into the heavens; there he sat, shining like the Sun. The world's creatures gathered and scattered jewels around him and proclaimed that this was the New Day (Now Ruz). This was the first day of Farvardin, which is the first month of the Iranian calendar.

Please click on the links below for more information:

How different countries celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year

What is Nowruz and why do we celebrate it?

New Day, New Face!