Navruz, meaning ‘new day’, is a spring festival rooted in the Zoroastrian tradition, celebrated across Central Asia for at least 2,500 years. Held on 21st March, at the time of the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the day signifies balance, and marks the start of the new year, when the powers of light symbolically overcome the powers of darkness.
I joined in Navruz celebrations in the village of Pista Mazor, close to Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan. The 21st was a day filled with feasting, music, and dancing, shared by the whole village. This was followed by a 13 day holiday, given over to visiting family, spring cleaning, forgiving debts, sewing seeds, and collecting the new season’s herbs – it was a time of renewal.
