About Parsi New Year
Parsi New Year, or Navroz, is the first day of the Shahenshahi Zoroastrian calendar, and in 2027 it falls on Sunday, 15 August 2027. It is the new year most Parsis in India keep, mainly in Mumbai, Pune, Gujarat and wherever Parsi families have settled. It is not the same as Nowruz at the March equinox, and it is a day later than Pateti, the solemn last day of the old year.
When an Indian says "Parsi New Year", this is the day they mean: the mid-August date on Maharashtra's holiday list and on the central government's list of restricted holidays, where it appears as Parsi New Year's Day or Nauraj. It opens month one, Farvardin, of the Shahenshahi calendar, which most Parsis in India follow. The Free Press Journal puts that share at about 70 per cent of the community.
Why the date slips back every four years
The Shahenshahi year has twelve months of 30 days and five extra days at the end, the Gatha days. That makes 365 days and no leap day. The earth takes about a quarter of a day longer to go round the sun, so every time the Gregorian calendar adds 29 February, the Parsi new year lands one day earlier.
Navroz was on 16 August from 2020 to 2023, and moved to 15 August in 2024. It stays there until the next leap day pushes it to 14 August in 2028. That is why it has lately shared a date with Independence Day, and why offices in Maharashtra do not get a separate holiday for it in those years.
The same drift explains why this new year is nowhere near spring. The calendar once began at the equinox. Parsis in India added a single extra month in the twelfth century and never repeated it, so the date has wandered back through the year ever since. By one calculation, it will reach the March equinox again around 2632.
A smaller group of Parsis follow the Kadmi calendar, which runs one month ahead, so their Navroz comes in July. Irani Zoroastrians and some reformist Parsi families use the Fasli calendar, which has a leap day and keeps the new year at 21 March. The March festival and the three calendars are explained on the Nowruz (Jamshedi Navroz) page. Many news sites call the August day Jamshedi Navroz, but that name belongs to March.
The year number, and how to work it out
Parsis count years in the Yazdegerdi era, written Y.Z., from the crowning of Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian king of Iran, in 632 CE. The simple rule for the Shahenshahi count: from the August new year until the end of December, subtract 630 from the Gregorian year. From January until the next Navroz, subtract 631.
So the new year of August 2023 opened 1393 Y.Z., and the one in August 2026 opened 1396 Y.Z. Kadmi families use the same number but turn it a month sooner.
Pateti comes first, and it is not a greeting
The days before the new year are about the dead, not about celebration.
- Muktad, the last ten days of the yearRemembering the family's dead
Homes and fire temples keep vases of fresh flowers, changed every day, and prayers are said for departed souls.
- Pateti, the last dayRepentance and stock-taking
Many recite the Patet Pashemani, a long prayer asking forgiveness for wrongs done knowingly or unknowingly during the year. Devout Parsis spend part of the day at the fire temple.
- Navroz, 1 FarvardinThe new year
New clothes, a fire temple visit, a sweet breakfast, family meals and visits in the evening.
- Khordad Sal, six days inBirthday of Zarathustra
The sixth day of the new year, kept with prayers, jashan ceremonies and another festive meal.
Pateti comes from patet, meaning confession or repentance. In Indian usage the name slid onto the new year, and "Happy Pateti" now turns up every August on cards and some holiday lists. Ervad Ramiyar Karanjia, a Zoroastrian scholar and priest, has pointed out that people send Pateti Mubarak greetings even though Pateti is not a festive day. Think of it the way you would think of wishing someone a happy Good Friday.
How families spend Navroz
The house is cleaned top to bottom in the days before. On the morning itself:
- The doorway. Chalk patterns, often made with stencils of auspicious symbols, go on the doorstep and floor, and a toran of fresh flowers hangs over the main door.
- The sagan. Family members bathe, put on new clothes and are marked on the forehead with a red tilo with a few grains of rice pressed into it. This sagan is done for every auspicious occasion in a Parsi home.
- The fire temple. Families take sandalwood to their local agiary or to an Atash Behram, the highest grade of fire temple. India has eight. Four are in Mumbai, and many Mumbai Parsis try to visit all four across Muktad and Navroz. Some travel to Udvada in Gujarat, home since 1741 of the Iranshah fire, first lit at Sanjan in 721 CE.
- Breakfast. Sagan ni sev, vermicelli roasted in ghee with sugar and dry fruit, eaten with mithu dahi, sweet curd. Some homes make ravo, a semolina pudding with milk, instead or as well.
- Lunch. The big meal of the day. Dhan dar patio (plain dal and rice with a sweet-sour prawn or fish curry), sali boti (mutton topped with crisp potato straws), patra ni machhi (fish steamed in banana leaf with green chutney) and a pulao are the usual choices, with falooda or lagan nu custard to finish.
Dhansak, the Parsi dish outsiders know best, is missing from the Navroz table on purpose. It is traditionally cooked after a death, so many families keep it off festive menus. Don't send it as a Navroz treat.
Evenings go to visiting relatives, and to community dinners and plays in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Secunderabad.
What to say and what to send
Navroz Mubarak means "blessed new day" and Sal Mubarak means "blessed year". Both are what Parsis say to each other, and both are safe for anyone. Gujarati families say Sal Mubarak too, on Gujarati New Year after Diwali, so a Parsi friend from Gujarat may hear it from you twice a year.
Navroz Mubarak! Hope the day starts with sagan ni sev and ends with a long lunch. Wishing you and your family a healthy, peaceful year.
Sal Mubarak to all of you from all of us. Thank you for being such good neighbours. May the new year be kind to your home.
Navroz Mubarak, Aunty. Wishing you good health and many more new years with the whole family around you.
Sal Mubarak. I know the Muktad days were hard this time. Thinking of you and of them, and hoping the new year brings you peace.
Navroz Mubarak from all of us here. Hope you found someone to make sev for you. Save me some ravo next year and have a healthy, happy one.
Navroz Mubarak to our Parsi colleagues and their families. Wishing you a year of good health and good work.
Do
- Wish on the day itself, or the evening before if you will be busy with Independence Day.
- Send flowers, mithai or dry fruit. All are ordinary, welcome new year gifts.
- If a friend keeps the Kadmi calendar, their new year comes in July, a month before this one. Wish them then.
Avoid
- Don't write Happy Pateti. Pateti is the day of repentance before the new year.
- Don't call the August day Jamshedi Navroz. That is the March festival.
- Don't ask to come along to the fire temple. Agiaries in India admit only Zoroastrians, so meet the family at home instead.
- Farvardin
- The first month of the Parsi year
- Pateti
- The last day of the old year, kept for repentance
- Muktad
- The closing days of the year when the dead are remembered
- Agiary
- A Parsi fire temple
- Atash Behram
- The highest grade of fire temple. India has eight
- Sagan
- The auspicious welcome, with a red tilo and rice on the forehead
- Y.Z.
- Yazdegerdi era, the Parsi year count from 632 CE
Most of the country will not notice the day. India counted 57,264 Parsis in the 2011 census. A wish that uses the right name, on the right day, will be remembered. The date for each year is on the calendar.
How to wish someone on Parsi New Year
Navroz Mubarak and Sal Mubarak are the right words, and both work for anyone from a teenager to a grandparent. The day follows ten days of remembering the dead, so a good wish is about a clean start, good health and family rather than success or parties. Never write Happy Pateti: Pateti is the day of repentance before the new year. If the family lost someone this year, a gentle line that remembers them is kinder than a cheerful forward.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Gujarati.
When is Parsi New Year in 2026 and 2027?
Parsi New Year is on 15 Aug every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Parsi New Year in 2027?
Parsi New Year 2027 falls on Sunday, 15 August 2027.
Why is Parsi New Year in August and not in March?
Most Indian Parsis follow the Shahenshahi calendar, which has 365 days and no leap day, so over the centuries its new year has drifted back from the spring equinox to mid-August. The March date, Jamshedi Navroz, is still kept as a festival, and it is the new year for Zoroastrians who use the Fasli calendar.
Is it right to say Happy Pateti?
No, most Parsi priests and writers say it is not. Pateti is the last day of the Parsi year, a day for repentance and prayers, and the celebration comes the next day, so the right greeting is Navroz Mubarak or Sal Mubarak.
What does Navroz Mubarak mean?
Navroz Mubarak means "blessed new day", from the Persian nav (new) and roz (day) and the Arabic mubarak (blessed). It is the standard Parsi new year greeting, used in both August and March, and Sal Mubarak, meaning "blessed year", is used the same way.
Why does the Parsi New Year date change?
The Shahenshahi calendar has no leap day, so each time the Gregorian calendar adds 29 February, the Parsi new year falls one day earlier. It was on 16 August from 2020 to 2023 and has been on 15 August since 2024.
Which Parsi year is it, and how is it counted?
Parsis count years from the crowning of Yazdegerd III, the last Sasanian king, in 632 CE. After the August new year, subtract 630 from the Gregorian year to get the Shahenshahi year, so the new year of August 2026 began 1396 Y.Z.
Can non-Parsis visit a fire temple on Parsi New Year?
No. Agiaries and Atash Behrams in India admit only Zoroastrians, and community bodies have defended that rule in court. Friends of other faiths usually wish the family at home or join them for the new year meal.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .