Parsi New Year 2019: Significance, history and celebrations during Nowruz

Parsi New Year or Navroz is also popularly referred as Pateti. Special food and desserts are prepared for a hearty feast on Parsi New Year.

Worldwide, people commemorate the holiday on the first day of the Zoroastrian calendar’s first month. This actually falls on March 21st. In India, on the other hand, the Shahanshahi calendar is followed, which means the New Year celebration happens in the later months of the year.

People from different religious traditions take part in the festivities. However, the Parsi New Year does remain linked to Zoroastrian religion. The holiday actually represents a yearly renewal of everything in the universe. According to folklore, the prophet Zoroaster created the holiday and it still remains an extremely important observance for residents of Maharashtra.

The Parsi New Year, also known as Navroz, is celebrated to mark the beginning of the Iranian calendar. The tradition began some 3000 years ago, and is observed by the Parsi community around the world.

It marks a new beginning and is celebrated with much fervor. People clean and decorate their homes, dress up in traditional attires, and visit fire temples to pray for prosperity and seek forgiveness for their sins.

After meeting and greeting, the festivities continue as people enjoy special foods like moog dal, pulav and sali boti, among a variety of other dishes. Visitors are sprinkled with rose water as they enter a home to welcome them. Often, people also use this auspicious time of year to give to charities or to the poor.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST MESSAGES AND QUOTES THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO MARK THE OCCASION: