This year, Navroz and Easter fall within a week of each other. Both are celebrations of new life and bear a remarkable similarity in symbolism.
Navroz - an overview
As an outsider looking in, there's a lot to like about Navroz. I suspect it's the same on the inside!
The day is celebrated with good food, good company and fun times. It's a special day.
Navroz is also Nawroz, Nauruz and Nevroz, the difficulty being they're all transliterations of the Persian words that mean 'new day'. It marks the first day of the Persian calendar and what is called the 'vernal equinox', essentially the moment day and night are equal because of the sun's alignment with the earth. Traditionally, it's been seen as the start of spring in the northern hemisphere and typically falls within a day of March 21st on the Gregorian calendar.
As the official Ismaili website notes,
“Ismailis across the globe celebrate Navroz with the recital of devotional poetry in the form of ginans, qasidas, and manqabas. Dried fruits, nuts and grains are distributed among Jamati members, symbolising blessings of abundance and sustenance. ”
The holiday has been celebrated across the world for 3000 years, but particularly in the Caucuses, Central Asia and amongst Persian peoples. The International Day of Navroz was brought into being by the UN in 2010, and the year prior, Canada marked it on its national calendar.
Although its roots are in Zoroastrianism, the day is now remembered as a cultural event, rather than a religious one.
Easter - an overview
By contrast, Easter, with its origins in the Middle East 2000 years ago, was originally a Christian celebration - despite the contrary testimony of the chocolate eggs and bunnies in shop windows at this time of year.
The events surrounding the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth are recorded in several books of the Bible, for example in Luke 22-24.
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. It can be a little hard to calculate, but always falls between March 22nd and April 25th.
The death of Jesus is remembered two days prior to Easter Sunday, on what is, confusingly, called 'Good Friday' - the 'good' being a reference to the implications of Jesus' death, his sacrifice on behalf of mankind. On Easter Sunday, Christians remember the triumphant resurrection of Jesus from the dead (just as he prophesied) as recorded in Matthew 28:1-10.
Last night Fox aired a live musical, a modern re-telling of Jesus' last few days on earth and his resurrection. You can watch the full thing by clicking on the image below.
An Ismaili esoteric interpretation of Navroz
Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Ismaili Imam, listed several events that happened on the day of Navroz throughout history, making it even a particularly auspicious day:
- the universe started in motion
- Adam was created
- Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad
- Ali was born
- Ali was declared as Muhammad's successor.
During the Fatimid period, Navroz was a national holiday. In the Alamut era and subsequently, it was a time when the Imam would shower his murids with blessings and gifts and offer Didar.
Given how important the day is in Ismaili tradition, it's not a surprise that such importance is attached to it.
According to one Ismaili blog, the festival is seen as
“a celebration of the soul’s journey to its Creator”
Elsewhere, Ismaili commentators describe Navroz as a picture of the relationship between the Imam and the individual's soul. Just as the day marks the lengthening of the sun's illumination of the earth, so spiritually it signifies the illumination of the believer's soul by the Imam.
Navruz, then, is a celebration of new life and the life given by the Divine.
A Christian esoteric interpretation of Easter
Jesus was brought back to life, an event that Christians celebrate on Easter day. It was an astonishing demonstration of God's power, the meaning of which is explained in the following verses from the Bible:
“he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.”
“And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.”
In summary, the resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that:
- He is the spiritual Son of God
- He has the power to forgive sins
- He has power over death
Because of all this, at Easter Christians can celebrate the knowledge that they too will be raised from death to eternal life, connected to the Divine in Paradise (check out these Bible verses - 1 Thessalonians 4:14, John 6:40, Romans 8:11).
Easter, then, is a celebration of new life and promised unity with the Divine.
Grounds for a common understanding between Christians and Ismailis
This time of year is marked by both Ismailis and Christians as a time to celebrate new life.
Both Christians and Ismailis recognize that this new life, that life in general, is given by God and is a gift to celebrate. We anticipate together the opportunity to one day be reunited with our Creator and that even that union is a gift that God has given to us.
Interestingly, these days both mark the birth of the central figures in our respective religions. For Ismailis, Navruz is the birthday of the prophet Ali, the Light of God. For Christians, Easter is the re-birthday, the birth to new life, of Jesus, the Light of God.
Both days involve the fundamentals of celebration: food, family and fun. They include an element of reflection and a large slice of celebration!
And both are open to the wider community! Easter is a time when churches fling their doors open even wider and invite anyone to attend and join in the celebrations. If you're an Ismaili, why not consider joining Christians in the festivities? Similarly, Navruz celebrations can be cross-cultural affairs. If you're a Christian, why not find a local family celebrating Navruz and join them?
However you choose to spend this period, we pray you will reflect well on the new life given us by God.
So how did you/do you/will you celebrate this season? Let us know with a comment below!