Google Doodle is celebrating the Iranian New Year, Nowruz or Navroz, a festival that is celebrated by Parsis all across the globe on March 21 this year.
Google Doodle today represents the Nowruz theme with spring flowers - tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and bee orchids. "As winter fades, and the northern hemisphere begins to thaw, it's time to celebrate Nowruz. Today's Doodle highlights this ancient holiday that marks the beginning of spring," wrote Google.
Nowruz is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated by various ethnicities worldwide. It is a festival based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, on the spring equinox, on or around 21 March, on the Gregorian calendar.
As per the legends, the word Nowruz or Navroz comes from two words, 'nav' and 'roz'. 'Nav' in Persian stands for ‘new’ while ‘Roz’ means ‘day’. The name literally translates to ‘new day’ and thus, it marks the beginning of the New Year in many cultures.
The Persian or Iranian festival marks the beginning of the spring season. Over 300 million people gather around the world on this day each year to celebrate the season of rebirth.
The tradition of celebrating Parsi New Year is believed to have been observed by Iranians and Zorastian for the past 3,000 years as it marks the beginning of the Iranian calendar and is celebrated till date by the community around the world.
In some cultures, some common Nowruz traditions include decorating eggs to honour new life, tidying up your home to prepare for a fresh start, and feasting on spring vegetables and herbs.
The United Nations recognizes Nowruz as an international holiday because families celebrate this joyful festival across the Middle East, the South Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, and Northern, Western, Central, and South Asia. "Happy Nowruz to all who celebrate! May your new year be filled with love, peace, and renewed hope," wrote Google as Nowruz greetings
"Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists," says Google on its website.
According to Google, the ideas for the doodles come from numerous sources including Googlers and Google users. Anyone with exciting doodle ideas can email doodleproposals@google.com with ideas for the next Google Doodle.