Nowruz 2027
The new year on the day the light wins.
Countdown to Nowruz 2027
Dates
When is Nowruz?
Nowruz 2027 falls from Sunday, 21 March 2027 to Wednesday, 24 March 2027.
The equinox falls late on 20 March (Tehran time), making 21 March the first day of the new year; the four-day holiday runs to 24 March.
Date checked against timeanddate.com
| Year | Dates | Length | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 – 24 March 2026Sat – Tue | 4 days | Past |
| 2027 | 21 – 24 March 2027Sun – Wed | 4 days | Confirmed |
See every festival by date in the 2026 festival calendar and 2027 festival calendar.
The story
What it is, and why it matters
- Type
- Food & Harvest
- Tradition
- Zoroastrian
- Where
- Isfahan, Central Iran
- Crowd
- 300 million observers
- UNESCO
- Inscribed intangible heritage
Thirteen days of visiting, beginning the moment the sun crosses the equator. The haft-sin table is set before it does.
Nowruz falls on the spring equinox, and it is observed from the Balkans to Xinjiang by an estimated 300 million people. It was inscribed by UNESCO in 2010 and is an official UN observance.
In Iran the celebrations run thirteen days. On the thirteenth, sizdah bedar, everyone goes outside — parks fill, grass is sat on, and the sabzeh grown on the haft-sin table is thrown into running water.
Culture
Traditions, food and music of Nowruz
Traditions
What actually happens
- Haft-sin — seven items beginning with the Persian letter sin, arranged on a cloth.
- Chaharshanbe Suri — jumping fire on the last Wednesday eve of the old year.
- Sizdah bedar — the thirteenth day outdoors, picnicking and discarding the sabzeh.
- Eid didani — visiting every relative in order of age, over thirteen days.
Food
The table, widened
- Sabzi polo mahi: herbed rice with white fish, the first meal of the new year.
- Samanu, nan-e nokhodchi, kuku sabzi and a bowl of wheatgrass pudding.
Music
Sound of the crowd
Traditional Persian classical repertoire, and the improvisational avaz. Street celebration uses dammam drums and the Kurdish/Bakhtiari folk traditions; Nowruz TV specials run for two weeks.
Religion
Why this date
Nowruz is Zoroastrian in origin, tied to the spring equinox and the figure of Jamshid. It pre-dates Islam in Iran and survived conversion by being re-coded as a cultural rather than religious occasion.
History
How it survived
The festival is at least 3,000 years old and is documented in the Achaemenid period as a tribute ceremony at Persepolis. It survived Arab conquest, Mongol invasion and three revolutions, and was added to UNESCO's heritage list in 2010.
History
How it got here
The festival is at least 3,000 years old and is documented in the Achaemenid period as a tribute ceremony at Persepolis. It survived Arab conquest, Mongol invasion and three revolutions, and was added to UNESCO's heritage list in 2010.
c. 1000 BCE
Achaemenid
Spring tribute ceremonies at Persepolis establish the festival's scale.
650 CE
After conquest
Nowruz survives the Arab conquest by shifting from rite to cultural date.
2010
UNESCO
Nowruz is inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Today
300 million
Observed across Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the diaspora.
Travel & practical
Visiting Isfahan for Nowruz
Getting there
Isfahan is a one-hour domestic flight from Tehran, or 6 hours by train.
Where to go
Naqsh-e Jahan square at the equinox moment; the Chaharshanbe Suri fire night beforehand.
Practical notes
Iranian visas take time. Apply through an agency at least eight weeks in advance.
Plan the trip with free AltFTool tools
FAQ
Nowruz: common questions
Straight answers to what people ask most about Nowruz.
When exactly is it?
The moment of the spring equinox — which can be 20 or 21 March, at an exact local time.
Why thirteen days?
Thirteen is unlucky in Persian folklore, so the thirteenth day is spent outdoors, away from the house.
What is on the haft-sin?
Seven symbolic items beginning with sin: sprouted wheat, apple, garlic, vinegar, sumac, samanu and a gold coin.
Also in March 2027
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