Celebrating the Persian New Year

Jamshed-e-Navroz—the dawn of the new year for Zoroastrians—is observed on the first day of the Zoroastrian calendar. The age-old tradition can be traced back to the first celebration to commemorate the coronation of the great Iranian King Jamshed. A feast was organised, where the kingdom was treated to wine, food and music.

Today, 3,000 years later, the tradition continues to live in the hearts of the many Zoroastrians who observe this day on March 21. The festivities begin with cleaning the house, at least, a month before the celebration. Ten days before Navroz, wheat, barley, lentils, and other vegetable seeds are soaked to grow on china plates and round earthenware vessels. On the day of vernal equinox, Parsis dress in new clothes with gold and silver kushti (sacred thread) and sudreh (sacred girdle), and pay a visit to the Fire Temple to offer special prayers, known as Jashan, and sandalwood sticks to the fire.

Evenings are spent setting up the Navroz table. A white cloth is laid, which represents purity. The table has a copy of Gathas (the sacred book), a picture of Zarathushtra and seven food items beginning with ‘sh’ (in Persian), which may include shir (milk), sib (apple), sabzi (vegetables), shama (candle), sharab (wine), shakker (sugar), shikeh (coin), somagh (sumac) and shisheh (glass). Each of the food items placed on the table has a symbolic representation, such as the sib (apple) signifies health, somagh (sumac) is a symbol of patience and tolerance and shikeh (coin) is a symbol of wealth. Other items placed on the table include a mirror, candles, rosewater and a bowl of water with goldfish.

Celebrations in New Zealand

The Zoroastrian community in New Zealand celebrates the festival with the same fervour seen back home. “There is no difference with the celebrations,” says Benifer Irani, who has been living in New Zealand for almost two decades. “We celebrate our Parsi New Year (in August) and Jamshed-e-Navroz (March 21) by conducting the Jashan ceremony (prayers performed by priests) and by attending the Fire Temple. In the evening, we have a feast. On certain festive seasons, we also go to Parsi theatrical plays.”

For Daliah Kermani, the celebrations start by decorating the home with garlands and rangoli. Kermani, who has been in New Zealand for 14 years, says that an important part of the celebrations is the get-together with friends and family. She says, “With the dawn of the new year, everything new should come our way. We decorate the entrance with garlands of flowers and a rangoli, which is considered to be very auspicious. And, of course, all Parsi festivals are incomplete without the grand feast.” Kermani adds, “Back home, we visit the Agiary (Fire Temple) first thing in the morning to pay our respects to the Almighty. Families and friends visit home and share sweets and have a grand feast of home-made delicacies. In the evenings, we go out together for movies or the traditional Gujarati natak.”

Both Irani and Kermani agree that the different events organised by the Zarathushtrian Association of New Zealand (ZANZ) add to the spirit of the festivities. “Different types of events are organised regularly for the kids, youth and seniors by ZANZ,” says Irani. “I am involved in organising the events, be it religious, cultural, theatrical, sports, games, tournaments, prayer classes or senior’s get-together.” Kermani adds, “So far, the members of ZANZ have successfully organised community events for festivals including the young and old. We do have a lovely bunch of volunteers who are always ready to step up for any such cause, and one such volunteer, who has tirelessly worked in organising events, is Benifer Irani, a great inspiration to the community.”

Irani thinks more can be done to observe community festivals in the country. She says, “How the Indians celebrate Diwali, we as Zoroastrians-Kiwi should do a Parsi mela or food fair (Parsi Bhonu—food is our forte) or join the Diwali mela with Parsi.”