Is Nowruz an Iranian or Persian New Year?
[For the differences between Iran and Persia, see our page, Iran and Persia, Are They the Same?. In short, Iran consisted of various kingdoms and at one time in history Persia became the dominant kingdom.] The observance of the spring equinox as the start of the New Year, Nowruz, was an ancient Iranian festival, started at a time that Persia had not yet emerged as a kingdom. The coming of spring after a cold, bleak winter had more significance in the fertile mountainous river valleys regions of present-day northern Iran and Central Asia, than it did in the warmer southern regions. As the geography and boundaries of Iran changed, Nowruz became the start of the new year for all nations or kingdoms that were part of the greater Iranian federation. This included the Medes and the Persians who respectively came to inhabit the Western and Southern regions of an expanded Iranian group of nations or kingdoms. Correctly speaking therefore, Nowruz is the Iranian New Year. Today the names Persian
