Nissan and Nowruz: Why the Jewish and Persian New Years Align in 2026

Our ראש השנה (New Year) and that of the Persians fall almost on the same day this year (5786/2026)—ours on Thursday, March 19, and theirs the following day, Friday, March 20. If you’re wondering why you didn't know we had a ראש השנה right now, the answer is simple: according to the biblical calendar, the month in which the Israelites left Egypt—the month later called ניסן—is the first month of the year.

Therefore, א' בניסן was the original ראש השנה. In the משנה, at the beginning of מסכת ראש השנה, four "New Years" are discussed. Among them is the first of ניסן—the ראש השנה for kings and festivals—and the first of תשרי, which is the ראש השנה for years, Sabbatical years (שמיטין), Jubilees (יובלות), planting, and vegetables.

The Meaning of "Head"

In Hebrew, the start of the year is called ראש השנה because ראש is not just the "upper part" (like the head of a human or the peak of a mountain), but also the "front part" (like the head of a fish or the head of a table) and the "beginning." Indeed, we read in the Book of Exodus: "This month shall be unto you the ראש of months; it shall be the ראשון (first) month of the year to you" (Exodus 12:2).

In Hebrew, ראש השנה—the first day of the year—literally means "the beginning of the year." This is also true in Arabic (ראס א־סַנַה) and Aramaic (רֵישׁ שַׁתָּא).

New Year vs. New Day

This isn't the case in other languages. In European languages like English, Italian, and Russian, they don't speak of the "beginning of the year" but of a "new year." That is why in English, people wish each other a "Happy New Year." In Russian, נוֹבִי גוֹד (Novy God) also means "New Year." Even in Chinese, the holiday is called 新年 (Xīnnián), meaning "New Year."

In contrast, the Persian New Year, which begins on the spring equinox, is called نوروز (pronounced נוֹוְרוּז, or Nowruz) and its meaning is "New Day." While Persian is written in Arabic script, it is an Indo-European language, a relative of languages like Greek and Latin.

• Now ("new") is related to νέος (neos) in Greek, novus in Latin, or new in English.

• Ruz in Persian means "day" or "daylight."

  
  

This year (5786/2026), the "New Day" is celebrated in Iran and other regions on March 20—exactly one day after א' בניסן, our ראש השנה for kings and festivals.

שנה טובה to us and to them!