Friday, 20th of March 2026, is NOWRUZ, the ancient Persian New Year celebration with roots extending back over 3,000 years, making it one of the world’s oldest, continuously celebrated holidays. Originating from Zoroastrianism (the ancient religion of Persia), it marks the spring equinox and symbolises renewal and the victory of light over darkness.
No bombs or religious dogmatism will ever be able to cancel Nowruz
Photo:persiaport.com
Sahar, you, your friends, the brave youth of Iran, you are all the lights in this time of darkness. You are the hope in these days of hopelessness. You will ensure that a new Iran will be born again.
It is my sincere hope and expectation that, regardless of the outcome of the current tragic and heartwrenching goingons, soon you will become the custodians and trustees of freedom and democracy in the new Iran. You will be free to choose how to live your lives, what to think, study, read and write. You will be free to dress up as you like, use makeup, sing, dance, watch tv, or listen to the radio.You will be free to choose your politics and vote for who you want and much more. Yes, you will discover what it means to be human: FREEDOM.
Norouz- The seeds of a New Day, Celebration of our Common Humanity
This Nowruz Greetings is dedicated to the brave youth of Iran, who are the unfolding story of change and transformation. May they rise to the challenge of leading Iran, with hope and wisdom and become the instruments of peace and prosperity for all.
‘It is hope that can give meaning to life and give us the courage to continue on our way into the future together.’
And this is why HOPE is truly what the world is yearning for this Norouz
We must remain positive. We must remain hopeful
We must not despair, we must walk on
‘Sahar - whose name, as with the other contributors, has been changed for safety reasons - found out on Tuesday that a woman she had gone to school with had been killed. "Her body hasn't been found. I felt horrible after hearing it," she said.
"Why do we have to experience such horror when we're in the prime years of our youth? I just want this to end before Nowruz. My favourite days in life are the early days of spring.” More on this later.
It must never be forgotten that from the very early days, the youth of Iran have been at the forefront of struggles for democracy and prosperity for all. This photo shows a supporter of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi at an election rally in 2009 at the Heidarnia stadium in Tehran. Photo: Ben Curtis/AP/The Guardian
Nota bene
In the last couple of weeks, I have been living in an estate of total numbness, pain, hurt and disbelief about what is happening in my land of birth, so much bombing, destruction and death. In a posted video I even saw the bombs dropping in the place where I had grown up and had gone to school in the 1950s and 60s, the beautiful Tehran Pars Seeing that video made me cry and sent me into total despair and hopelessness.
On Friday, 20 March 2026, it will be Nowruz, The ancient Persian New Year. I did not know if I wanted to write my customary annual Nowruz greetings, in the face of so much pain, death and destruction in the Land of Nowruz.
That was until the other day, when I read about the hopes and dreams of the young people in Iran on the BBC. That affected me immensely, gave me hope.
This morning I woke up very early at 4.30 am. I came down to my office. The flame of hope had started to fill me with positivity. I began to search for more wisdom, hope, and inspiration. I turned to the Persian sages, poets, philosophers of love. I began to recall and remember my childhood years in Tehran, when and where the love of poetry was instilled in me.
‘I learnt my love of mysticism and appreciation of mystic poetry from my late father, a businessman by trade and a connoisseur of Sufi poetry by tradition. For my father, nothing was more sacred than poetry — specifically the Persian mystical poetry. To him the Persian poets were the true sages, the gems of humanity, the philosophers of love, beauty and wisdom.
I remember he used to tell me all the time that, Kamran ‘These mystical poets can help you lead a better life, I am sure when you get older you will discover that for yourself. Reflecting back now, I can only say how right he was.
So, today, I began my very early morning by recalling the wise and the hopeful words and messages of Hefez, Saadi, Rumi, Ferdowsi, amongst many others, to enable me to muster the necessary spiritual strength to put pen to paper and write my Nowruz greetings for this year.
All said and done, writing this Nowruz Greeting made me very emotional, and at times, with tears rolling down my cheeks. In short, what I have said, what I have written, they all have come from my heart and it is my sincere hope that they will land on your heart too.
Sahar and the entire brave youth of Iran, this is for you all, Happy Nowruz
‘Sahar - whose name, as with the other contributors, has been changed for safety reasons - found out on Tuesday that a woman she had gone to school with had been killed. "Her body hasn't been found. I felt horrible after hearing it," she said.
"Why do we have to experience such horror when we're in the prime years of our youth? I just want this to end before Nowruz. My favourite days in life are the early days of spring.”
‘Fewer than 10 days remain until Nowruz, the Persian New Year festival, which marks the arrival of spring. It is usually a time when families gather to celebrate. Markets and streets across Iran are crowded with people buying sweets and nuts for guests ahead of the holiday. But this year that has not been the case, according to those living in Tehran.
‘It doesn't feel like the run-up to Nowruz. But even under missiles, we carry on living. We have no choice but to live," said Peyman, a man in his 30s…’-'Even under missiles we carry on living' - how young Iranians are coping with war
The youth of Iran: You are our hopes and dreams. You will rise to the challenge. You will make Iran better. With you Iran will rise again.
To guide and inspire you on your way, the timeless words of Dr. Martin Luther King are of the essence:
‘And I must confess, my friends, that the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will still be rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. And there will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. We may again, with tear-drenched eyes, have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. But difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future….
‘When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’-Where Do We Go From Here?
Sahar, Peyman, Mina, Mehran, Shima,… The Youth of Iran- Happy Nowruz to you all
Norouz is a message of hope, beauty, wisdom, peace, friendship, benevolence, justice for humankind and admiration for nature and an occasion for rethinking, restarting and remaking.
Norouz’s Celebration Table (Haft Seen) represents a symbolic meaning such as rebirth, renewal,
rejuvenation, patience, beauty, health, prosperity, joy and love.-Photo:turmericsaffron.com
'In my heart you are the mirthful ray
You are the caring, though my companions they
Happy is the world with the Noruz and with the Eid
You are both my Eid and my Noruz today'
اندر دل من مها دل افروز توئي
ياران هستند ليك دلسوز توئي
شادند جهانيان به نوروز و به عيد
'عيد من و نوروز من امروز توئي
Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rumi جلالالدین محمد رومی
With our Common Humanity We Must Rise Against the Enemies of Humanity
Noruz, the Beginning of Spring Symbolises Hope
Norouz (New Day), The Persian New Year: The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO)
The Sprouting Seeds of Hope and Humanity
Photo:bing.com
We wish you all a very Happy Norouz. Hope this year, will be the year to realise our collective dream- democracy, freedom and prosperity for all in Iran. This journey we call life, is too short, too unpredictable and too fragile. Thus, let us come together in the time-honoured tradition of Norouz declaring our love for each other, our love for nature and our kinship for all living things. Happy Norouz, Happy New Year. Iran Pirooz.
Kamran Mofid