What is Nowruz? Dates, the equinox, and traditions

Nowruz is one of the oldest continuously celebrated new-year festivals in the world, and its timing is genuinely astronomical rather than a fixed calendar date. If you’ve ever wondered why it lands on a slightly different day each year, the answer is in how it’s defined.

A new year tied to the sky, not the calendar page

Most new years are fixed to a calendar date: 1 January, the same every year. Nowruz is different. It’s pinned to the vernal equinox, the astronomical moment when day and night are roughly equal and spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere. The Persian year starts on the day that contains that exact instant, observed at the reference meridian for Iran.

Because the equinox doesn’t occur at the same clock time each year (it drifts about six hours annually, then jumps back when a leap day is added), the Gregorian date of Nowruz shifts between 20 and 21 March. That’s not an inconsistency; it’s the calendar faithfully tracking the Sun. The full mechanism is in why Nowruz isn’t always on the same Gregorian day.

When is Nowruz?

For the next few years, 1 Farvardin maps to:

If you want to know exactly how long until the next one, the Nowruz countdown tracks it live, and the converter will map any specific date for you.

The traditions

Nowruz is recognised by UNESCO on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, marked by more than 300 million people across many countries (source: UNESCO, “Nowruz”). Customs vary, but a few are widely recognised:

• Haft-sin: a table set with seven symbolic items whose names begin with the Persian letter “s” (sin), such as sabzeh (sprouted greens) and senjed. Each stands for a hope for the year, like renewal or health.
• Spring cleaning (khaneh tekani): cleaning the home before the new year to start fresh.
• Visiting family and friends in the days that follow, often with small gifts.
• Sizdah Bedar: spending the thirteenth day of the new year outdoors, a picnic to round off the celebrations.

These are cultural traditions rather than a single fixed script, and they’re practised in different forms across the regions that mark Nowruz.

Why it matters for dates

Because Nowruz is the start of the Persian year, it’s also the moment the year number changes (for example, into 1405). That’s why converting a date in late March needs care, the same calendar day can fall in two different Persian years on either side of Nowruz. To check the current Persian year or any specific date, see what year is it in the Persian calendar or use the converter.

In short, Nowruz is spring’s arrival turned into a new year: astronomical in its timing, rich in tradition, and the reason the Persian year number ticks over in March. Check the next Nowruz date or convert any date to see where it lands.