Nowruz

Why in news?

• Nowruz was celebrated by Parsi community in India.

About Nowruz

• Nowruz is the Iranian New Year, also known as the Persian New Year, which is celebrated worldwide by various ethno-linguistic groups.
• Nowruz has Iranian and Zoroastrian origins, however, it has been celebrated by diverse communities for over 7,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia.
• Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
• It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendars.
• Globally it usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day, depending on where it is observed.
• The Parsi community of India observe the new year using the Shahenshahi calendar which does not account for leap years.
• This means that for Parsis in India, the holiday has now moved by 200 days from its original day of the vernal equinox.
• In India the Parsi New Year is celebrated around 16-17 August.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Nowruz is a festival associated with:
(a)Parsi community
(b)Jain community
(c)Buddhist community
(d)None of the above

Answer to prelims question