Nowruz 2022: Google Doodle celebrates the beginning of the Persian New Year

Nowruz 2022: Nowruz, meaning “new day”, originated in Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. It is celebrated by many communities in Central and Western Asia.

Google Doodle: Google released a lively doodle featuring flowers and guitars to mark Nowruz.

On March 20, Google Doodle celebrated Nowruz, the first day of spring and the official start of the Persian New Year.

Nowruz, meaning “new day”, originated in Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. Although rooted in Iranian traditions, the festival is celebrated by many communities in Central and Western Asia.

Nowruz marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

“The Northern Hemisphere is saying goodbye to cold, barren landscapes and the budding leaves and blooming flowers of spring,” Google said in a note accompanying the doodle. “Millions of people around the world attend festivals, feasts and enjoy outdoor activities in celebration of Nowruz, the first day of spring and the official start of the Persian New Year.”

Nowruz is more than 3,000 years old festival. The celebration, which lasts for 13 days, begins at the spring equinox, when the sun crosses the equator.

“It is widely used to symbolize rebirth and the affirmation of life in harmony with nature,” Google said.

To celebrate Nowruz, people clean their homes, visit friends and neighbors and cook traditional herb rice and fried fish and some special sweets.

The United Nations recognizes 21 March as the “International Day of Nowruz”.

“Nowruz plays an important role in strengthening people-to-people ties based on mutual respect and the ideals of peace and good neighbourhood,” the United Nations said. “Its traditions and rituals reflect the cultural and ancient customs of the civilizations of the East and the West, which influenced those civilizations through the exchange of human values.”