Parsi New Year also known as Pateti, also known as Navroz, is set to be celebrated on August 16. This auspicious day marks the beginning of the new year for the Parsi community and is an occasion filled with joy and renewal. Extend your Navroz Mubarak wishes and embrace the traditions of Parsi New Year as you celebrate this special festival.
Mumbai: Marking the arrival of spring and the renewal of nature, the Parsi community around the world celebrates their New Year, known as Navroz, which translates to ‘New Day.’ While this festival is globally observed around the Spring Equinox on March 21, Parsis in India follow the Shahenshahi calendar and therefore, for 2024, Parsi New Year will be observed on Friday, August 16. In India, particularly in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Parsi community observes Navroz with vibrant festivities centred around spirituality, family, and food.
Parsis clean their homes, decorate with flowers, don new clothes, exchange gifts, make charitable contributions and visit fire temples (Agiaries) to offer prayers and seek blessings. For Parsis, fire symbolises purity and divine light, making it central to their worship. Parsi New Year is also a time for expressing gratitude for the past year’s blessings and wishing for prosperity and happiness in the year ahead.
Central to Navroz celebrations is the Haft Sin table, an ornate display of seven items that start with the letter ‘S’ in Farsi, each symbolizing various aspects of life: Community gather.