International Day of Nowruz
21 March 2026 — Spring is here! Happy spring New Year, Nowruz Mubarak!
Nowruz (Persian for „new day“) is the spring new year, celebrated for more than 3,000 years across Iran, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Afghanistan and parts of the Balkans and the Middle East. It is tied to the spring equinox, the moment when day and night are nearly equal and the Sun crosses the celestial equator, marking astronomical spring in the northern hemisphere. Families clean their homes, welcome guests, share food and wish one another health and prosperity. In Iran the haft-sin table gathers seven symbolic items whose names begin with the letter „s“, and sprouted wheat (sabzeh) stands for new beginnings. In the days before Nowruz many people jump over bonfires (in Iran on Chaharshanbe Suri, the eve of the last Wednesday of the old year), and during the festival they bake sweets and visit relatives. In 2010 the UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Nowruz, and in 2009 the festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is a symbol of peace, solidarity and friendship between peoples.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure made of light dots and thin lines, like a constellation: a small dish of sprouted wheat and a blossoming twig drifting together across the night sky toward a glowing sun-star
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