Zoroastrian Holidays

Celebrations of the Zoroastrian Ritual Calendar

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Updated on June 19, 2017

Zoroastrians celebrate a variety of holidays. Some of them celebrate points in time such as Naw-Ruz, which is their new year or celebrating solar events, such as the winter solstice. Other holidays are dedicated to particular spirits or mark historic events, notably the death of their founder, Zoroaster.

March 21 - Naw-Ruz

Zoroastrians At Nowruz — Zoroastrians reading their holy book, or Avesta, during a Nowruz ceremony held at the Rostam Bagh fire temple in Tehran, Iran. Kaveh Kazemi / Getty Images

Naw-Ruz, also spelled Nowruz as well as other variants, is an ancient Persian holiday celebrating the new year. It is one of only two festivals mentioned by Zoroaster in the Avesta, the only holy Zoroastrian scriptures written by Zoroaster himself. It is celebrated as a holy day by two religions: Zoroastrianism and the Baha'i Faith. In addition, other Iranians (Persians) also commonly celebrate it as a secular holiday.

Dec 21 - Yalda

Zoroastrians celebrate the winter solstice as a triumph of good over evil as nights begin to shorten as the time of daylight lengthens. This celebration is commonly known as Yalda or Shab-e Yalda.

Dec 26 - Zarathust No Diso

Marking the death of Zoroaster, founder of Zoroastrianism, this holiday is considered a day of mourning, and it is often marked with prayers and studies on the life of Zoroaster.