Countywide : Observations for Persian New Year Set

Thousands of Orange County residents will be among 200 million worldwide today observing Nouruz, the Persian new year.

For Iranians, Parsis, Afghans, Tadjiks and Kurds, the day of the vernal equinox is celebrated as the anniversary of the world’s creation. It is also a time to renew a religious commitment to be good to others and to nature.

When day and night are of equal length, according to Persian legend, the world is in equilibrium, so the holiday is an occasion to seek balance in one’s life.

“It is a time to harbor good thoughts, do good deeds and wear a good heart,” said Ardeshir Anoshiravani, a board member of the California Zoroastrian Center in Westminster.

A number of myths are associated with the ancient holiday, too, and are told every year to children--that goldfish, for instance, will do back flips in their bowls on the first day of spring, and that eggs placed on a mirror will spin by themselves.

Zoroastrians, members of the oldest recognized monotheistic religion in the world, will follow today’s Nouruz festivities with a weekend celebration of their prophet’s birth.

According to various Zoroastrian texts, Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, was born five days after Nouruz.

About 300 Zoroastrian families are expected to convene at the center Sunday for a full day of prayer and festivities, Anoshiravani said. In advance of the holiday, families typically prepare a feast of food representing abundance, goodness, cleanliness, bounty, love and wealth.