Azizan

Two New Years: January 1, Nowruz, and how to say Happy New Year in Persian

"Happy New Year" in Persian is sâl-e no mobârak (سال نو مبارک). At Nowruz, the Persian New Year, people also say Nowruz mobârak (نوروز مبارک) or, politely, eyd-e shomâ mobârak (عید شما مبارک). Iranian families abroad usually have two New Years. January 1 starts the year on the calendar that school and work run on. Nowruz starts the Persian solar year at the spring equinox, around March 20 or 21. The year that began at Nowruz 2026 is 1405, so on January 1, 2027 it will still be 1405 in the Persian calendar, and 1406 begins at Nowruz 2027. For a child, the simplest way to put it is that there are two ways of counting the year, and your family keeps both. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

How to say Happy New Year in Persian

The phrase most people want is sâl-e no mobârak (سال نو مبارک), literally "new year, congratulations". At Nowruz you will hear it all through the first days of spring, next to Nowruz mobârak, "happy Nowruz". With an older relative, a teacher or someone you have just met, the polite form is eyd-e shomâ mobârak; with a sibling or a cousin, the familiar eydet mobârak. For January 1, Persian speakers usually add one word so it is clear which New Year they mean: sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak, "happy Gregorian New Year".

A child does not need all of these. Two are enough to start: sâl-e no mobârak for everyone, and eyd-e shomâ mobârak for a grandparent on the phone.

Two New Years: what is the difference?

January 1 belongs to the Gregorian calendar, the one on the school timetable and the office wall. It starts the year in early winter, at midnight, on a fixed date.

Nowruz belongs to the Persian solar calendar, called the Solar Hijri calendar, and it works differently. The year does not start on a fixed date but at an astronomical moment: the spring equinox, when day and night are about the same length, and from then on the days are longer than the nights. Families wait for that exact moment, tahvil-e sâl, around the Haft-Seen table. Because the equinox moves a little from year to year, Nowruz falls on March 20 or 21, and very rarely March 19. The day the equinox falls on becomes 1 Farvardin, the first day of the new year, or the day after if the moment comes after noon, Iran time.

The calendar keeps going with the sun after that. Its twelve months follow the seasons: the first six have 31 days, the next five have 30, and the last month, Esfand, has 29, or 30 in a leap year. That is why Farvardin is always spring and Dey is always winter. For the month names and their seasons, see Persian months and seasons for kids. For the table itself, see Haft-Seen for kids.

What year is it in the Persian calendar?

The Persian year that started at Nowruz 2026 is 1405. The equinox came on Friday, March 20, 2026, at 14:46 UTC, which was 18:15 in Tehran. Because that was in the evening, Iran time, 1 Farvardin 1405 was the next day, Saturday, March 21, 2026.

So on January 1, 2027, when the Gregorian year changes, the Persian year does not: that day is 11 Dey 1405, early in the Persian winter. The number changes to 1406 at Nowruz 2027. Iran's calendar tables put that moment late on the evening of March 20, 2027, Iran time, so 1 Farvardin 1406 should be Sunday, March 21, 2027.

Why such a different number? The two calendars count from different starting points. The Solar Hijri calendar counts its years from the Hijra, the year 622 CE. A rough rule for a curious child: from Nowruz to December 31, subtract 621 from the Gregorian year; from January 1 to Nowruz, subtract 622. It is Iran's official calendar and is also widely used in Afghanistan.

How to explain two calendars to a child

Children understand "two ways of doing the same thing" well. They already have two languages, and often two names for grandma. Two New Years fit the same pattern. A few lines you can use, in Persian, at home:

• ما دو جور سال می‌شمریم. یکی با مدرسه‌ت، یکی با مامان‌بزرگ و بابابزرگ. "We count the year two ways: one with your school, one with grandma and grandpa."
• سال میلادی تو زمستون نو می‌شه. سال ما وقتی بهار می‌آد. "The January year turns new in winter. Ours turns new when spring comes."
• تو الان تو سال ۱۴۰۵ی، و تو سال ۲۰۲۶ هم هستی. "Right now you are in the year 1405, and in 2026 too."

Something to look at helps more than words. Hang two calendars side by side for a month, or mark both New Years on one calendar with two colours. In early March, count down the days to Nowruz the way the class counts down to winter break. Let the child do the greeting on both nights: sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak to the family at midnight on December 31, and eyd-e shomâ mobârak to a grandparent at tahvil-e sâl.

Many families celebrate both because both are real parts of the child's year. January 1 is when friends count down and school starts again. Nowruz is when the family gathers, visits or calls relatives, and sits at the Haft-Seen. Nobody has to pick one. Grandparents can be part of either: a grandmother can record a New Year story or a short message on Azizan, reading it page by page in her own voice, and the child can play it on January 1 or at Nowruz, wherever she lives. For stories to read at Nowruz, see Nowruz stories for kids.

Nowruz is shared heritage

Nowruz is not only Iranian. UNESCO first inscribed it on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. The listing was extended in 2016 to twelve countries, and again in 2024, when Mongolia joined. Today the thirteen countries on the listing are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

That gives a child a useful fact for school. Their New Year is shared by families in many countries, under names like Novruz, Navruz and Nauryz, and a classmate from Kabul, Baku or Tashkent may celebrate it too. The word itself means "new day".

Related guides

• Nowruz stories for kids
• Haft-Seen for kids: the seven S's explained
• Persian months and seasons for kids

Questions

How do you say Happy New Year in Persian?

Sâl-e no mobârak (سال نو مبارک). At Nowruz people also say Nowruz mobârak (نوروز مبارک), and the polite form for elders is eyd-e shomâ mobârak (عید شما مبارک). For January 1, many Persian speakers say sâl-e no-ye milâdi mobârak, which makes clear they mean the Gregorian New Year.

Is Nowruz on March 20 or March 21?

It depends on the year. Nowruz begins at the exact moment of the spring equinox, which falls on March 20 or 21, and very rarely March 19. In 2026 the equinox came on the evening of March 20, Iran time, so 1 Farvardin 1405 was March 21. Nowruz 2027 is also expected on March 21.

What year is it in the Persian calendar?

From Nowruz 2026 until Nowruz 2027 it is 1405. January 1, 2027 is 11 Dey 1405. The year 1406 begins at Nowruz in March 2027.

Do Iranians celebrate January 1?

Many Iranian families abroad do, because it is the New Year of the school and work calendar and their children's friends celebrate it. Nowruz stays the family New Year. Many families keep both.

Is Nowruz only an Iranian holiday?

No. UNESCO lists Nowruz as shared heritage of thirteen countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It was first inscribed in 2009 and extended in 2016 and 2024.

Open Azizan — record a story for your child

Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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