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About Nowrooz
Nowrooz (No Ruz or Norooz) is the Iranian new year festival. The word itself literally means "new day" in Persian (Farsi) language and the festival marks the beginning of the solar year as well as the new year on the Iranian and several other national calendars.

At its core, the Nowrooz festival celebrates the awakening of the natural life. This awakening symbolizes the triumph of good, winning against the evil forces of darkness that are represented by the Winter.


Nowrooz is the point when the oppressive presence of the cold Winter finally begins to retrieve with the commencement of the lively and hopeful Spring. This symbolic and poetic change corresponds to the mathematical instance of the sun leaving the zodiac of Pisces and entering the zodiacal sign of Aries, also known as the Spring Equinox.

As described above, Nowrooz represents much of what Iranian/Persian character, history, politics and religion are all about. For centuries, Persians have applied the Nowrooz spirit to every dark challenge that has come their way. This spirit has made Nowrooz far more than just a New year celebration!


History of Nowrooz: An anchor of hope

The renewal of nature is the essence of this multi-millennium old tradition. Originally held as a spring festival, it is believed to have first been acknowleged officially and named "Nowrooz" by a mythical Persian emperor, Jamshid. Others have credited the Achaemenid Dynasty (12th B.C.) for institutionalizing the Nowrooz festival.

Throughout their often stormy history, the Persian people have endured the darkest times of hardship, civil wars, world wars, foreign occupations and the like. Persians have celebrated the height of human civilization, scientific and military achivement through the spirit of Nowrooz. Such a unifying spirit has often made Nowrooz the target of much animosity by foreign invaders and anti-national forces throughout the history of Iran. Alexander the Great, the Arab conquerors and many others tried to eliminate this holiday and wipe it off the Persian cultural landscape, only to find it preserved by the masses.

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The woman in the shot was ordering flowers and the man (shopkeeper) was talking to her about specifications of each type of flowers.