Nowruz and the start of the Shamsi year

In shortThe Shamsi year begins on 1 Hamal, at the March equinox, on 20 or 21 March. Nowruz, "new day", is that first day, and in Afghanistan it is marked as a one-day celebration. Since 2022 it is no longer a public holiday, but people may celebrate it privately.

The year begins at the equinox

The Shamsi year begins at the March equinox, when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are about equal everywhere.¹ 1 Hamal is the day of the equinox, or the day after when the equinox comes in the afternoon.² So Nowruz falls on 20 or 21 March:

Nowruz in Afghanistan: one day

Nowruz, "new day", is the first day of the year, 1 Hamal. In Afghanistan it is marked as a one-day celebration.

For the day, families make haft mewa, "seven fruits": as the Afghan writer Humaira Ghilzai describes it, a mix of seven dried fruits and nuts, such as raisins, senjed (the dried fruit of the oleaster), pistachios, walnuts, almonds and dried apricots, soaked overnight and served to guests on the first day of Nowruz.³ In Mazar-i-Sharif the day used to begin with the raising of a flag at the shrine famous for its blue tiles.⁴

Nowruz is not Afghanistan's alone: Afghanistan is one of the thirteen countries that share its listing on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.⁵

Nowruz and the public holiday

During their first rule in the 1990s, the Taliban banned Nowruz as a pagan holiday.⁴ In March 2022, at the first Nowruz after their return, they cancelled the public holiday but said that celebrations were allowed.⁶ Their spokesman said it would not be celebrated officially with state-organized events, but that people "will not be prevented" from marking it privately.⁴

The first day of spring

1 Hamal also begins spring, the first of the four seasons, each three Shamsi months long: spring is Hamal, Sawr and Jawza.² Why the seasons follow the months is the subject of long and short days, and Afghanistan's four seasons.