Nowruz is first day of Spring and the beginning of the Iranian year . Nowruz is celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox , on 20th March or the previous / following day depending on where it is celebrated. Nowruz is celebrated and observed by Iranian people as well as several other countries across Asia including Afghanistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and many more. The new year starts at the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day or exactly when the Earth has completed one cycle around the Sun.
The celebration has its roots in Ancient Iran. Due to its antiquity, there exist various
foundation myths for Nowruz in Iranian mythology. The Shahnameh dates Nowruz as
far back to the reign of Jamshid, who in Zoroastrian texts saved mankind from a killer
winter that was destined to kill every living creature. In the Shahnameh and Iranian
mythology, Jamshid is credited with the foundation of Nowruz. In the Shahnama,
Jamshid constructed a throne studded with gems. He had demons raise him above the
earth into the heavens; there he sat on his throne like the sun shining in the sky. The
world’s creatures gathered in wonder about him and scattered jewels around him, and
called this day the New Day or Now-Ruz. This was the first day of the month of
Farvardin (the first month of the Persian calendar). On Nowruz, families gather together
to observe the rituals and celebrate the beginning of the new year.
In addition, it is believed that originally the celebration was the holiest Zoroastrian
festival, and Nowruz is believed to have been invented by Zoroaster himself, although
there is no clear date of origin. Since the Achaemenid era, the official year has begun
with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign
of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox.
International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in
its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this
holiday (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Dear Friends, and Supporters of World Cultural Heritage Voices.

On behalf of our colleagues and volunteers at WCHV, and on the occasion of the Global New Year of 2019, we would like to extend our regards and best wishes for a Happy New Year.  Thank you for your support of WCHV, which has been so instrumental in achieving our goals and mission.

Once again, we are on the verge of the Persian celebration of Yalda, a

festival that has major significance in Iranian culture. Yalda is the only Iranian festivity that emphasizes the audacious conflict between light and dark emphasizing the beginning of longer days and shorter nights.

For centuries, at the height of the chilly winter nights, there is a new hope in the hearts of the Persians; the hope that Yalda, along with the elements of nature, simply reminds us that just like the end of darkness, it is possible to end sorrow and anguish in the face of the kindness of the sun, which is the eternal gem of our culture.

And now everything indicates that once again the force of light,brightness and joy will end the bitter and dark times.

The Pasargad Heritage Foundation, while congratulating you on the occasion of the Persian Yalda celebration, invites everybody to celebrate this national festivity.

Let’s ome along and celebrate Yalda by the Evergreen and with the army of light and kindness save our land from the evil of darkness.

From the Pasargadae Heritage Foundation

 ShokoohMirzadegi

December 20.2018