As spring begins, so does the Persian New Year. The festival of Norouz is marked on the spring equinox and is a 13-day celebration of love, fertility, and spiritual renewal that spreads the message of hope far and wide. It is celebrated throughout Central Asia, the Caucasus, and parts of the Middle East.
1Participants take a selfie in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on March 21.
Celebrated on the spring equinox, Norouz is a celebration of love, fertility, and spiritual renewal that spreads the message of hope far and wide and lasts for 13 days.2Figures of the fictional folklore character Hajji Firuz, who appears in the streets at the beginning of Norouz, are displayed at a stall in Tehran ahead of the festival.
3A selection of this year’s Norouz eggs (Haftseen) feature the anti-government slogan “Woman, life, freedom” in Iran. Iran has been rocked by mass protests for the past six months following the death of a young woman in police custody.
Though Norouz is associated with being Persian and Iranian, the holiday is celebrated throughout Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia.4As his fellow Dervishes chant and sway to the hypnotic rhythm of prayer until reaching a trance-like state, a man has his neck pierced with long needles in the town of Gjakova, Kosovo.
Considered a mystic sect by fellow Muslims in Kosovo and Albania, the dozens of Sufi Dervishes from the Kadiri order celebrate the centuries-old traditions of the spring equinox, known to them as Sultan Nevruz.5Thousands of Pakistanis celebrate Norouz in Parachinar, a town in the Kurram district of northwestern Pakistan.6A girl buys a balloon for the Norouz celebration from a vendor at a cemetery in Kabul.
The Taliban canceled the public holiday, though the militants have insisted those who wish to celebrate will not be prevented from doing so.7Afghans celebrate in Kabul.
Norouz means “new day” in the Persian language. 8A Tajik girl spins in her colorful traditional dress in Dushanbe.9Another Tajik girl in Dushanbe marks the first day of spring.10Kyrgyz women wearing traditional costumes celebrate at Ala-Too Square in Bishkek.11Young children wearing traditional costumes take part in celebrations at Ala-Too Square in Bishkek.12Women cook a traditional dish for the celebrations in Bishkek.13Several woman help another don a traditional hat in Bishkek.14Horsemen show off their riding skills during a kok-boru tournament in Bishkek.15Fans watch the horsemen during their kok-boru tournament in Bishkek.16People dance and sing around a large bonfire in Dushanbe.
17Iranians take pictures as they celebrate near the Azadi Tower in Tehran.
The Persian New Year, which has been celebrated for at least 3,000 years, is one of the most important celebrations in the greater Persian world.
