Parsi New Year: The Time of Navroz

The Parsi New Year is a regional holiday celebrated on the first day of the Zoroastrian calendar’s first month, Farvardin. It is also known as Navroz, which is derived from ‘nav’ and ‘roz’, meaning new and day respectively in Persian. The festival falls every year on Spring Equinox around 21st March, but the Parsi community in India follows the Shahenshahi calendar and thus celebrate their new year later in July or August.

In 2020, the Parsi New Year will be observed on 16th August (Sunday) in India.

A 3000-year old Zoroastrian tradition, the Parsi New Year holiday was created by Prophet Zoroaster according to legends. It was celebrated by the followers of Zoroastrianism in Persia (now Iran), who migrated to places like Gujarat in India in the 7th century owing to the Islamic invasion. Although the festival originated in Persia, it is celebrated with much fervour in many Indian states.

The day is also referred to as Jamshedi Navroz after the Persian King Jamshed who founded the Parsi calendar.

The Parsi’s are an immigrant community, they are of Zoroastrian faith. Parsi Community came from Faras, Persia, more than a thousand years ago and are now located in Mumbai, India. They are mostly settled in old Mumbai but in recent times, they have settled in major cities and towns in India.

Some of them are also found in countries like the United States, Canada, England, and Pakistan. In 1901 the Parsi population in India was around 93,952; in 1976 it was around 82,000 and in 2014 it fell down to 60,000. Since then the population has been decreasing.

The reason of the decreasing population is due to migration, declining fertility rate and late marriage.

Some of the holy Parsi festivals are Navroz (New Year’s Day), Frawardigan (commemorating the dead souls), Pateti (the day of confession and repentance).

Some of the famous Parsi people in India are Scientist Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Businessman JRD Tata, India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Former Chairman Tata Sons Ratan Naval Tata, Bollywood Actor Boman Irani, among others.

Parsi community makes up a very crucial community of India despite their presence in small numbers.

Here are a few interesting facts about them:

1. 2The native language of Parsi’s is Avestan but they also speak Gujarati or English. The religion Zoroastrianism was founded 3,500 years ago in ancient Iran by Prophet Zoroaster. There is a collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism known as the Avesta. Some of their religious literature is in Pahlavi (it’s an Aramaic-based writing system used in Persia from the 2nd Century BC to the advent of Islam in 7th Century AD).
2. Birth of a Parsi child is followed by a ritual bath, a cleansing prayer, sacred items are given to him/her. The main priest conducts prayers and formally invites him/her in the community and religion. Parsi’s don’t usually bury or cremate dead bodies; they leave the body so vultures can feast on it. They do this as they don’t believe in polluting air or land. It is done at a place called Dakhmas or ‘Tower of silence’. They began using electronic crematorium after there was a decline in the number of vultures after 1990.
3. The Parsi’s had to face a struggle period of 200 years when they rebelled against the Arab invaders in Iran (their home country earlier). It was called the period of silence. In order to retain their regional and cultural identity, they ran from Iran as the Arab conquered it and took refuge in Gujarat, India from 8th to 10th Century AD. Some of them later migrated to parts of Mumbai. Qissa- i Sanjan is the account of the early years of Parsi settlement in India.
4. The Parsi Community believes in the existence of one invisible God. Atash Behram (victorious fire) which is located in the fire temple is of prime importance to them. There are total 9 Atash Behram in the world, out of which 8 are located in western India and one is located in central Iran.
5. The Udvada Atash Behram is the oldest Zoroastrian temple and the continuously burning fire temple in the world. Male-Female Ratio of Parsi Community is different than others; they have more females and lesser males. As per 2001 Census, 1050 females per 1000 males which are more than India’s average of 933 females. To solve the problem of declining Parsi community in India, the Jiyo Parsi Scheme was launched on 24 September 2013. It was a government-supported the initiative.

Some say that by 2020 the Parsi population will decrease to 23,000 and this can take away from them the tag ‘community’ and can label them as tribal instead.

Navroz is the Parsi New Year’s Day. The day before is Pateti, the last day of the previous year, and the day to close accounts for the year.

While Pateti is generally observed in August, it is not universal among the Parsis. The Parsis follow one of three calendars. It is the Shahenshahi, and most common, calendar, which has Pateti and the new year in August. The other calendars are the Fasli (the old Persian calendar), which has the day in March, and the Kadimi, which celebrates the festival one month before the Shahenshahis.

The word 'Pateti' is derived from Pazend 'patet', meaning 'repentance'. The Zoroastrian tenets are based on the three ideals of good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Anything that is out of accord with this is considered a sin. It is natural for anyone to have committed a sin in the course of a year, even if only inadvertently. Pateti is the occasion to redeem oneself by offering patet, or the prayer of repentance, and prepare to greet the new year with a clean conscience.

It is also a day of thanksgiving, to be grateful to God not just for the joys of life but also the sorrows.

In India, it is observed in Maharashtra (especially Mumbai) and Gujarat in the month of August according to the Gregorian calendar.

In India, the Parsis follow Zoroastrianism, there are an estimated 2.6 million Zoroastrians worldwide with the Parsis in India being the largest single group i.e., more than 50000.

In most parts of the world, the Navroz takes place on 21st March, but in the Indian subcontinent, the Shahenshahi Calendar(Persian Calendar) is followed which does not take leap years into account, which is why Navroz is celebrated 200 days later, on August 17.

The Parsi New Year is not only a time for celebrating, renewing spirits with kindness and patience, and feasting, but also a time for cleansing oneself from all past evil deeds and thoughts, and to repent for one’s mistakes.

The celebration day is also dedicated to cleansing one’s mind, body and soul from all evil thoughts and deeds, people pray for prosperity.

The Navroz celebrations begin on New Year’s Eve, also known as Pateti, when Parsis rigorously go into cleaning mode externally too and get rid of all their unwanted belongings and possessions, in the hopes of cleansing themselves.

*NOTE: Many people confuse Pateti with Navroze (the Parsi New Year) which is on the following day. When a person has stood in front of the Holy Fire with complete humility and sought repentance for all his past sins after saying the holy Patet Pashemani prayer, only then he acquires the right to greet another Pateti Mubarak. Once a Parsi has done this, and purged his mind, body and soul, he can wish another ‘Pateti Mubarak’.

Pateti:

This is the day to sincerely repent all your sins. One has to repent all the wrong words, wrong deeds and wrong thoughts of the past year. You can repent your mistakes and sins if you have knowingly or unknowingly caused harm or hurt to others. You can cleanse and purify your mind and begin afresh on the next day which is Navroze (Parsi New Year).

Pateti Rituals

Parsis wear new clothes on this day and visit the Fire Temple. The house is cleaned very thoroughly and Rangoli is drawn outside the doorstep.  The main door to the house is decorated with powdered chalk designs and strings of flowers are attached to the doorway. Agarbatis or incense sticks are lit and together with the fragrance of cooking, a wonderful aroma envelope the surroundings. Traditional breakfast is served, and special sweets and dishes are prepared for lunch and dinner. Other customs include sprinkling rose water on visitors as they enter the home and giving donations to charity.

During the celebrations of Pateti, they mingle easily with each other. They ignore the social differences and come together to celebrate in harmony and peace. Both men and women mingle freely with each other which depict equality. Food is a significant part of Parsi festivals, and during Pateti they prepare some wonderful dishes. They meet and greet other Parsis and sometimes go for Parsi dramas which are held in the city.

Food has a very important role to play in Parsi celebrations. The traditional breakfast served on this day is Ravo and Sev. Ravo is made preparing semolina, milk and sugar. Sev is fried and sweet vermicelli garnished with raisins and almond slivers. Parsis are non-vegetarian and on this day, they prepare some non-veg delicacies such as fish, chicken, etc. Lunch consists of Pulav topped generously with lots of nuts and some chicken and fish dishes. Sali-Boti and Patra-Ni-Macchi are two important non-vegetarian food items cooked on this day. All through the day, people serve some sweets and a glass of Falooda to those who come home.

The Parsis originally came to India from Persia and mingled easily with the Indians. It is an important day for Parsis and provides them with a chance to start new and begin fresh.

All things bright and beautiful, all things good and true, all things fine and wonderful, all these are wished for you on this day and always. Navroz Mubarak!