Naw-Ruz will be observed March 21st this year...

The Baha'i New Year .. Naw-Ruz.. will be observed this year on Thursday March 21st of the Gregorian Calendar. Baha'is observe Naw-Ruz with feasting and fellowship. Naw-Ruz meaning "New Day" in Persian is the Vernal Equinox when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal:

1. (Physical Geography) the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length. It occurs about March 21 in the N hemisphere (Sept 23 in the S hemisphere)
2. (Astronomy) astronomy the point, lying in the constellation Pisces, at which the sun's ecliptic intersects the celestial equator

vernal equinox

It is the ancient Persian New Year also observed by Zoroastrians and Shi'ite Muslims …

"Nowruz, known as the Persian new year, is one of the most ancient celebrations in history and has been celebrated for around 4000 years in what is now Iran and in the extended cultural area known as Greater Iran...."

Nowruz - The Persian New Year and The Spring Equinox

Also see:

The Many Meanings of the Baha’i New Year (Naw-Ruz)

I'll share a few sentences from an essay on Naw-Ruz by John Walbridge:

The Iranian Naw-Ruz

"Naw-Ruz is the first day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar year. Since ancient times it has been the great national holiday of Iran, the only holiday celebrated by more than one religious group.

"The origins of Naw-Ruz are unknown but it obviously began as a pastoral fertility festival. Legend attributes its foundation to the mythical antediluvian king Jamshid. Naw-Ruz and Mihrajan, the corresponding festival of the autumnal equinox in September, are the two great annual festivals of Zoroastrianism. Originally a sombre festival dedicated to the spirits of the dead was held for five days ten days before Naw-Ruz, followed by a further five days corresponding to the Bahá'í Ayyam-i-Ha. Later Naw-Ruz gradually became a secular holiday and as such it continued to be observed even after the triumph of Islam in Iran. Muslim kings in Iran, like their Zoroastrian predecessors, celebrated Naw-Ruz with great magnificence. As late as the nineteenth century Naw-Ruz was the only day the Shah would dine with other people.

"Shi`i traditions attributed to the Imams endorsed the observance of Naw-Ruz, which was, it was said, the day of many events of great religious significance, among them God's first covenant with mankind, the first rising of the sun, the grounding of Noah's ark on Ararat, Gabriel's first appearance to Muhammad, the destruction of the idols in the Ka`bih by `Ali, Muhammad's appointment of `Ali as His successor, the appearance of the Qa'im, and the final triumph of the Qa'im over the Antichrist. Such traditions echoed similar accounts of Naw-Ruz found in Zoroastrian literature."

Naw-Rúz: The Bahá'í New Year

A video about Naw-Ruz:

We had a lovely day on Naw-Ruz viewing the flowers of Spring in the foothills and the effluence of nature... I came across this verse to share:

This period of time is the Promised Age, the assembling of the human race to the "Resurrection Day" and now is the great "Day of Judgment." Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb. The turning and falling of the autumn leaves is past; the bleakness of the winter time is over. The new year hath appeared and the spiritual springtime is at hand. The black earth is becoming a verdant garden; the deserts and mountains are teeming with red flowers; from the borders of the wilderness the tall grasses are standing like advance guards before the cypress and jessamine trees; while the birds are singing among the rose branches like the angels in the highest heavens, announcing the glad-tidings of the approach of that spiritual spring, and the sweet music of their voices is causing the real essence of all things to move and quiver.

~~~ Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 351

Happy Naw Ruz Arthra. Wish everyone well and happy for me.

Regards Tony

Thanks Tony! I hope you had a lovely Naw-Ruz Tony.... Allah'u'Abha.