Nowrūz
Also called	Also spelled Norouz, Narooz, Norooz, Nawruz, Newroz, Nauruz, Nawroz, Noruz, Novruz, Nauroz, Navroz, Naw-Rúz, Nowroj, Navroj, Nevruz, Наврӯз, Navruz, Navrez or Nowrouz
Observed by	Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Albania, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, as well as among Iranians, Persian people, Kurdish people and Turkic peoples everywhere.
Type	International
Significance	New year holiday
Date	March 20th, 21st or 22nd. Some communities celebrate on the actual Spring Equinox. Others celebrated on a fixed day every year.
Celebrations	The Haftsin setting, Chahârshanbe Sûrî, Sizdah Bedar, etc.

Persepolis all nations stair case. Notice the people from across Persia bringing Nowruz gifts for the king

Nowrūz (Persian: نوروز, various local pronunciations and spellings) is the traditional Iranian new year holiday celebrated in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Georgia, the countries of Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, as well as among various other Iranian and Turkic peoples in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Northwestern China, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Balkans.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year as well as the beginning of the Bahá'í year.^[1] It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (start of spring in northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on the March 21st or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.

As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of Sufism as well as Bahá'í Faith.^[1] In Iran it is also referred to as an Eid festival, although it is not an Islamic feast. Alawites also celebrate Nowruz.^[2]

The term Norooz first appeared in Persian records in the second century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (c. 648-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor (Shahanshah) of Persia on Nowruz.^[3]