March 19, 2015: Millions around the world welcome the new season every year with timeless cultural traditions that they believe will bring them glad tidings.
Spring, the happy season of renewed life, unfolds this weekend as the planet passes through the vernal equinox, with millions of people across the world from different cultures welcoming it in their own way.
Some with spring cleaning, some with songs and dance, and others with traditions that have lasted for thousands of years and are embroidered in timeless legends and myths.
[…] Celebrated on 21 March, a date originally set by astronomical calculations, Norouz is tied to various legends, such as that of King Jamshid, a mythological king of Iran, from the first dynasty of Aryan people.
It is said that this king, who is credited with building of Persepolis, had fought the dark and overwhelming winter, and when he had won, spring was born.
Others tie it to the Zoroastrian religion, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions, founded by Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago. Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers but rather believe that the elements are pure and that fire represents God’s light or wisdom. Besides the Zoroastrians, versions of Norouz is celebrated by Sufis, Ismailis, Alawites, and Baha’is.
via Spring welcomed by ‘ancient fire and love’ | The National.
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