Google celebrates ‘Nowruz’ with beautiful doodle, marks commencement of Parsi New Year

It’s the start of Persian New Year ‘Nowroz’ and the most popular search engine Google is also not behind in cherishing the extravaganza. Google has come up with a beautiful doodle to celebrate the festival of ‘Nowruz’.

The Persian or Iranian New Year or popularly called ‘Nowruz’ is usually celebrated on March 21. The significance behind the festival is that it is celebrated around the time when the days start getting longer. This phenomenon is termed as ‘vernal equinox’.

Geographically, Nowruz marks the commencement of spring in the northern hemisphere of the globe. Every year Parsi families gather together to celebrate and observe the rituals. Technically, the moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator and equalises day and night exactly,  New Year is celebrated.

Also read | Navroz 2017: Trump travel ban effects celebrations

Predominantly celebrated in Central and Western and Middle Eastern part of Asia, Nowruz is generally declared a public holiday in countries like Iraq, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Showcasing the importance of Nowruz, Iran offers a 14-day long vacation for school children and university goers. Canada has also included Nowroz in the country’s national calendar in 2009.

In India too, Nowruz is celebrated with great fun fare and enthusiasm by the Parsi community.