Nowruz

Nowruz (from Persian: نوروز‎‎, literally "[The] New Day") is the name of the Iranian New Year also known as Persian or Kurdish New Year, celebrated by mostly Iranian peoples and Turkic peoples worldwide as the beginning of the new year. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It marks the first day of Farvardin month and spring in Iranian calendar.

Nowruz is the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (or northward equinox), which marks the beginning of the spring in the northern hemisphere and usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The moment the sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and families gather together to observe the rituals.

Although having Persian and religious Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz is celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for thousands of years. It is a secular holiday for most celebrants that is enjoyed by people of several different faiths, but remains a holy day for Zoroastrians.

Nowruz (disambiguation)

Nowruz is the celebration of the Persian new year.

Nowruz may also refer to:

Nowruz (oil field)

The Nowruz oil field, in the Persian Gulf, Iran, was the site of several 1983 oil spills.

One spill was initially caused by a tanker hitting a platform. In March, 1983, the platform was attacked by Iraqi helicopters and the spill caught fire. The Iran–Iraq War prevented technicians from capping the well until 18 September 1983. Eleven people were killed during the capping.

A separate spill occurred when Iraqi helicopters attacked a nearby platform in March 1983. The well was capped in May 1985. Nine men were killed during the capping. Approximately 733,000 barrels (100,000 tonnes) of oil were spilled because of this incident.

Overall, 80 million gallons (about 260,000 tonnes) of oil were spilled.

References