Persian New Year Wishes: 59 Nowruz Messages, From Chaharshanbe Suri to Day 13

Nowruz does not begin at midnight on a fixed date. It begins at the exact moment of the March equinox, and in 2027 that moment is 20:24 UTC on March 20: 11:54 p.m. in Tehran, 4:24 p.m. in New York, 1:24 p.m. in Los Angeles. Families gather around the table to wait for it, then call everyone they love. This guide is built around that calendar, so you can find the right wish for the minute you are in: the bonfire night before, the turning of the year, the first visits, the thirteenth-day picnic.

Short answer: the greeting is Nowruz mobārak (نوروز مبارک), "a blessed new day." The usual reply is Hamchenin (همچنین), "likewise," or the same greeting back. Five lines to send right now:

1. Nowruz mobārak! May the new year open with good health and an easy heart.
2. Eyd-e shomā mobārak (عید شما مبارک). Wishing you and your family a spring full of good news.
3. Sāl-e nō mobārak (سال نو مبارک). May every table you sit at this year be full and warm.
4. Nowruzetun pirooz (نوروزتان پیروز). May your new year be a victorious one.
5. Happy Nowruz. Thinking of you at the haft-sin tonight, and wishing you a year as fresh as the sabzeh.

The 2026 and 2027 moments, converted for your time zone

The equinox times below come from the Nowruz article on Wikipedia (which cites the 7seen.com countdown pages); the local times are our own conversions. By the Iranian rule described in the same article, if the equinox falls before noon in Tehran that day is the first of Farvardin, and if it falls after noon the following day is. Both years fall after noon, so Nowruz day itself is March 21.

Year	Equinox (UTC)	Tehran (UTC+3:30)	New York	Los Angeles	Nowruz day
2026 (1405)	Mar 20, 14:46	6:16 p.m.	10:46 a.m. EDT	7:46 a.m. PDT	Saturday, March 21
2027 (1406)	Mar 20, 20:24	11:54 p.m.	4:24 p.m. EDT	1:24 p.m. PDT	Sunday, March 21

Chaharshanbe Suri, the fire festival, falls on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz: for 2027 that means the evening of Tuesday, March 16. The thirteenth day of the holiday, Sizdah Bedar, lands on Friday, April 2, 2027, counting March 21 as day one.

Six phrases, and what each one is really saying

These come from the Persian-language teacher Leyla Shams, who set them out for Nowruz 1394 on the Chai and Conversation blog. They are the ones you will actually hear.

Say this	Persian	It means
Nowruz mobārak	نوروز مبارک	Blessed new day (nowruz is literally "new day")
Eyd-e shomā mobārak	عید شما مبارک	May your holiday be blessed (eyd here means "holiday", not an Islamic feast)
Sāl-e nō mobārak	سال نو مبارک	Happy new year, word for word
Sad sāl be in sālhā	صد سال به این سال‌ها	May there be a hundred more years like these
Ārezuye salāmati	آرزوی سلامتی	My wish for your health
Nowruzetun pirooz	نوروزتان پیروز	May your Nowruz be victorious

Two additions of our own: eydet mobārak (عیدت مبارک) is the informal "you" version for friends and younger relatives, and hamchenin (همچنین) is the standard way to answer, since the word means "likewise" in Persian dictionaries. The Persian lines on this page were written by our editors from teaching sources and have not been proofread by a native speaker; if a line matters (a card for an elder, a speech), let a Persian-speaking friend check it.

The fire night: Chaharshanbe Suri

At sunset on the last Wednesday evening of the old year, people build small bonfires and jump over them, calling out sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to, "let your redness be mine, my paleness yours." Wikipedia calls it a purification practice. Messages for this night should be light and a little daring.

1. Chaharshanbe Suri mobārak! May the fire take every bad week and leave you only the warmth.
2. Jump high tonight. Whatever tired you out this year stays on the other side of the flames.
3. Sorkhi-ye to az man, zardi-ye man az to. Take my paleness, I'll take your glow. See you at Nowruz.
4. Be careful with the sparklers, and then be careful with the new year: it is going to be good.
5. One more Wednesday and the year turns. Sending you light for the jump.

The turning of the year: what to say in the first minutes

The Chai and Conversation guide notes that it is customary to spend the moment of the new year with close family, then immediately call or visit other relatives and friends. So the first messages are short and warm, written to be read aloud over a speakerphone as much as on a screen.

1. Nowruz mobārak, Mom and Dad. Another year with you at this table is the only gift I need.
2. The equinox just passed. Happy new year, everyone, and may we all be here again next spring.
3. Sad sāl be in sālhā, Grandma. A hundred more years like this one, with all of us in the room.
4. First call of the year goes to you. Nowruz mobārak, and thank you for everything you taught me.
5. The sabzeh is green, the candle is lit, the fish is swimming in circles. All is well. Happy Nowruz.
6. Sāl-e nō mobārak, from our family to yours. May the year bring more laughter than worry.
7. To the family I cannot hug tonight: I'm holding the moment with you across the miles. Nowruz mobārak.
8. We turned the year together, wherever we are. That is the real haft-sin.

Elders and parents: warm and a little formal

With grandparents, parents-in-law and older relatives, use the full greeting (eyd-e shomā mobārak, not eydet) and add a wish for health.

1. Eyd-e shomā mobārak, Grandfather. May your health stay strong and your table stay crowded.
2. Dear Aunt, Nowruz mobārak. Your house has always felt like spring, and I hope this year brings you only good news.
3. Ārezuye salāmati for you, Grandma. That is the one wish that holds all the others.
4. To my parents-in-law: Nowruz mobārak, and thank you for welcoming me to your haft-sin.
5. May this year be gentle with you, Uncle, and may your garden be as green as your sabzeh.
6. Nowruzetun pirooz. We are looking forward to visiting you in the first days of the year.
7. Sad sāl be in sālhā. Your family is the best thing in my new year.

Friends: texts that sound like you

Informal Persian drops to eydet mobārak and nowruzet pirooz. In English, keep it short and put one specific wish in it, not a list of every good thing.

1. Eydet mobārak! Let's make this the year we finally take that trip.
2. Nowruz mobārak, my friend. May the new year be easier on you than the last one.
3. Happy Nowruz. I hope the first day of spring brings you the kind of good news you've been waiting on.
4. Sāl-e nō mobārak. Save me a seat at your table and a spoon of samanu.
5. Nowruzet pirooz! May your goals come in on time and your coffee stay hot.
6. Thirteen days of holiday is the right length for a new year. Make time for me in at least one of them.
7. New day, new year, same you, and I am glad of it. Nowruz mobārak.

A partner, a fiancé, a spouse

1. Nowruz mobārak, my love. Another spring, and you are still the first person I want to call.
2. May our table this year hold seven good things and an eighth that is just us.
3. Sāl-e nō mobārak. Whatever the year brings, I'd like to stand in front of the mirror at the haft-sin with you.
4. You are my sabzeh: the green that shows up when everything else looks bare. Happy Nowruz.
5. At the moment the year turns, I'll be thinking of you. Eydet mobārak, azizam.

Colleagues, neighbors and clients who celebrate

At work, a short, warm line is enough. Nowruz is a major holiday for many people, so an acknowledgement matters even if you are not close. Do not ask anyone to explain it to you in the message; look it up.

1. Happy Nowruz! Wishing you and your family a wonderful new year and a restful holiday.
2. Nowruz mobārak to you and the team. May spring bring you new energy and good news.
3. I know this is a big week for you. Wishing you a joyful Nowruz with the people you love.
4. Thank you for a great year working together. Nowruz mobārak, and best wishes for 1406.
5. Happy Nowruz, neighbor. Hope the haft-sin is set and the family is all together.
6. Wishing you a bright first day of spring and a year of good health.

Far from home

For many people the holiday is felt hardest by the ones who cannot be at the table. These lines don't try to cheer; they keep someone company.

1. I know the table looks different this year. Nowruz mobārak, and I am setting a place for you in my thoughts.
2. Wherever you are when the year turns, you are part of the family's circle.
3. Call home today, and then call me. Nowruz mobārak, with love from far away.
4. It's a hard year for many people we love. May the new one be softer. Eyd-e shomā mobārak.
5. I'll be up at the minute of the turning, thinking of you. Happy Nowruz.

Day 13: Sizdah Bedar

The Nowruz holiday lasts thirteen days in Iran. On the thirteenth, people leave their houses for a picnic outdoors, and the sabzeh from the haft-sin is thrown into running water. Wikipedia adds that young singles tie the blades of grass in a knot to wish for a partner, and that playing pranks is part of the day. In 2027 it is Friday, April 2.

1. Happy Sizdah Bedar! May the new year leave your house with the sabzeh and take the bad luck with it.
2. Picnic, sunshine, and the best kind of mischief. Enjoy the thirteenth day.
3. May the knot you tied in the sabzeh come true before the next Nowruz. Have a wonderful Sizdah Bedar.
4. The holiday is over, but the wish isn't. Thank you for sharing these thirteen days with me.
5. Is that a prank? Happy Sizdah Bedar, and I'll get you back next year.

How to reply

You can answer almost anything with one of these:

1. Hamchenin! (همچنین) Likewise, and thank you.
2. Eyd-e shomā ham mobārak. And a happy Nowruz to you too.
3. Mersi, Nowruz mobārak to you and the family.
4. Thank you, and may the year be good to you as well.
5. Sad sāl be in sālhā. Same to you, and may we celebrate together next year.
6. That means a lot. Happy Nowruz, and I hope to see you soon.

The haft-sin in one line each

The table that families gather around holds seven things whose Persian names begin with the letter sin. Wikipedia's list is below, with a line you can borrow for each. The table may also hold a mirror, candles, painted eggs, a bowl with goldfish, coins and hyacinths, and a book of wisdom such as the divan of Hafez.

Item	Persian	A line you can borrow
Sabzeh, sprouts	سبزه	May your year be as green as the sabzeh.
Samanu, wheat pudding	سمنو	Wishing you a year as sweet as samanu.
Senjed, Persian olive	سنجد	May love find you this year, as the senjed finds the table.
Serkeh, vinegar	سرکه	May age bring you patience, and patience bring you peace.
Sib, apple	سیب	Wishing you health and beauty in the new year.
Sir, garlic	سیر	May you stay healthy and protected from the bad things that go around.
Somāq, sumac	سماق	May the sunrise of the new year be the color of sumac.

The symbolic meanings here (sweetness, patience, health and so on) are our shorthand for popular readings, not a single official list; families explain them differently. If you are writing to a specific family, use the wish they would recognize.

Which name to use: Persian New Year, Nowruz, Newroz, Novruz

Nowruz is not only Persian. The same festival is celebrated by Kurds (who often say Newroz), Azerbaijanis (Novruz), Afghans (Nawroz, with a dish of seven dried fruits called Haft Mēwa) and many others across West and Central Asia, according to Wikipedia. In 2010 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 64/253, which recognizes the International Day of Nowruz on March 21. A kindly rule: if you do not know how someone names the holiday, write "Happy Nowruz" and follow their lead.

The roots of Nowruz lie in Zoroastrianism, and in the eleventh century the astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam led the scholars who set the calendar's start at the equinox. The poet is still read on the holiday. In Edward FitzGerald's English version of the Rubáiyát, one quatrain begins with the spring itself:

Come, fill the Cup, and in the fire of Spring
Your Winter garment of Repentance fling:
The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter—and the Bird is on the Wing.

Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward FitzGerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, stanza VII (fifth edition, 1889)

It is not a Nowruz poem as such, but a line about throwing off winter fits a card to a friend. Do not treat it as Persian; it is an English reading, and FitzGerald took liberties with the original.

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Write your own in three parts

1. The greeting, in the register of the relationship: Nowruz mobārak for everyone, eyd-e shomā mobārak for elders, eydet mobārak for friends.
2. One image from the table: sabzeh, the goldfish, the candle, the apple. It shows you know the day without explaining it.
3. One wish for that person: health for a grandparent, a trip for a friend, calm for a colleague.

Worked example, for a friend who moved abroad: "Eydet mobārak, Sara! I just saw a photo of your sabzeh and it looks greener than mine. May this year bring you a job you love and a plane ticket home."

What not to do

• Don't send it on January 1. Nowruz is March 20 or 21.
• Don't call it "Muslim New Year." It is a seasonal and cultural holiday that predates Islam and is kept by people of many faiths.
• Don't use eid to mean the Islamic Eid feasts here; in the Nowruz greeting it simply means "holiday."
• Don't paste a stack of 20 wishes. One specific line beats a long chain.
• Don't guess at a Persian poem you can't read. A plain English line is better than a wrong quote.

Quick questions

How do you wish someone a happy new year in Persian?

Say Nowruz mobārak (نوروز مبارک) or sāl-e nō mobārak (سال نو مبارک). For an older person use eyd-e shomā mobārak. Reply with hamchenin, "likewise."

What are some Persian best wishes?

Sad sāl be in sālhā (a hundred more years like these), ārezuye salāmati (wishing you health) and nowruzetun pirooz (may your Nowruz be victorious) are three common ones, per the Chai and Conversation guide.

Is it okay to say "happy Nowruz"?

Yes. If you do not know how someone celebrates, "Happy Nowruz" is the safest and warmest choice, and it works for Persian, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, Afghan and other families.

When is Nowruz in 2027?

The equinox falls at 20:24 UTC on March 20, 2027, and by the Iranian rule Nowruz day is Sunday, March 21 (1 Farvardin 1406).

Sources: Wikipedia articles "Nowruz" and "Chaharshanbe Suri" (dates, customs, haft-sin list); Chai and Conversation, "Happy Nowruz 1394! Phrases to Use Today with Friends and Family" (Leyla Shams, 2015); Project Gutenberg #246 (FitzGerald, fifth edition). Persian script and transliteration were checked against these sources, not by a native proofreader.