Nowruz: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Oct. 10, 2026

Facts

Also Known As	Nōrūz • Nō-Rūz • Nōgrūz • Naurūz • Nō Rūz

Photos

A woman in a pink headscarf sits beside a haft-sin table set with symbolic items for Nowruz in a tiled garden area near a fountain in Tehran, Iran.

Stone relief at Persepolis showing bearded dignitaries in traditional dress holding cups, ascending steps during a Nowruz celebration in the Apadana of Darius I.

illustration of Nowruz in the Shāh-nāmeh of Ferdowsī

Two adults push children in strollers past large, colorful decorative eggs displayed outdoors in Mellat Park, Tehran, during Nowruz celebrations.

Two women holding hands leap over a small bonfire as part of a Nowruz festival celebration, surrounded by a crowd of people in Istanbul, Turkey.

Haft-sin table for Nowruz at the United Nations features an open Quran, mirror, candles, painted eggs, goldfish bowl, coins, hyacinths, fruit, nuts, and flowers on a patterned cloth.

An older woman from the Parsi community stands beside a stone wall carved with a row of ancient knight figures at a fire temple in Mumbai, India during the Nowruz festival.

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Topics

Satum Bāj Āfringān Yasna Parsiism