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Persian New Year 2024: What is Nowruz spring festival all about?
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Fireworks, light shows, and even celebrations with people jumping over fire are happening across the world for Nowruz, a festival marking the Persian New Year.
It's a celebration which goes back over 3,000 years, which makes it one of the oldest festivals in the world.
It happens every year in the build up to the first day of spring, which varies between the 19th and 21st of March. This year, that's on Wednesday 20 March.
Nowruz, which roughly means New Day, is celebrated by lots of people across the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries.
Persians, Parsees, Kurds, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and many more cultures celebrate this special occasion and have their own traditions surrounding it.
What happens during Nowruz?
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Just like Christmas, Eid and many other celebrations, Nowruz includes family gatherings and parties with lots of special food.
One of the special dinners is haft-sin where seven items starting with the letter 'S' in Persian are laid out - these include apples, garlic, vinegar and a sweet pudding which are displayed on a table.
A goldfish bowl can sometimes appear too, with the fish representing life.
Goldfish bought during Nowruz are traditionally released into the wild on the thirteenth and final day of the festival but in recent years supporters of animal rights have called for that practice to stop, as the fish often die.
Fire jumping
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In the build up to Nowruz people celebrate by jumping over burning fires.
This custom is said to burn away negative things from the past so you can start fresh for spring.
How long does Nowruz go on for?
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Nowruz was originally linked to the Zoroastrian faith, which preceded both Christianity and Islam.
It has been proclaimed an official UN observance day since 2010 because it promotes peace and focuses on cultural diversity and friendship among different peoples and communities.
The Nowruz holidays last thirteen days. On the thirteenth day of the New Year, Iranians leave their houses to enjoy nature and picnic outdoors, as part of the Sizdebedar ceremony.
Families also sometimes play pranks and jokes on each other.