People in Middle East, Central Asia and other parts of the world gear up to celebrate Nowruz, which means New Day, as the year of 1388 comes to end in the Iranian calendar. Nowruz is on March 21 this year like it has been for about three millenniums. Nowruz indicates the first day of spring and the beginning of the year.
The modern western calender is dated from the time of Christ, which is about 2010 years, however the modern Iranian calendar is dated 1389 year from the time of Mohammad. Years are counted since the Hijrah, which is when Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madina.
Modern Iranians celebrate the New Year for 13 days. It is expected for all to bath and clean themselves before Nowruz. New clothes are worn to emphasize freshness. The houses get cleaned, since Nowruz is "a feast of hope and renewal.
Families wait at home for the New Year to be announced. Once it is announced younger members of the family will visit the older members to pay respect and wish the a happy New Year. Relatives kiss and hug and presents are exchanged. Candies are offered to symbolically sweeten their lives for the rest of the year. New Year festivities continue until the 13th day. The 13th day is mostly spent outdoors. People leave their homes to go to the parks for festive picnics.
This celebration reveals many aspects about Persian people. Nowrus is a very old tradition and it still is celebrated by many people t shows that they have been following their ancestors. This event tells that Persian people value their religion and family the most.
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