Nowruz: The Religions and National Identity of Iranians

Many people have spoken or written about Nowruz rituals. There are numerous and invaluable old sources available on Nowruz and the related myths and rituals; the theological, cosmological, and astronomical views in relation to Nowruz, and the customs and traditions related to this occasion and the Sassanid Iran and kingdom. In the modern era, several archeological findings, documents, and studies, alongside the comparative studies conducted by historians, mythologists, linguists, experts studying ancient scripts, and Iranian and non-Iranian Iranologists have provided plenty of useful and reliable scientific data about Nowruz. The present study does not discuss Nowruz-related customs and rituals; rather, it follows a theoretical and philosophical approach to investigating Nowruz rituals and their connection with Iranians’ national and religious identity. The author believes that, in comparison to the huge number of historical, comparative, and field studies conducted in this regard, this approach to Nowruz customs has been to some extent neglected by researchers in this field.