Nowruz Family Festival

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art will celebrate its 2026 Nowruz Family Festival Saturday, March 14, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Named for the Persian word for “new day,” Nowruz marks the vernal equinox and the first day of spring.

This year’s Nowruz Family Festival will include attractions for all ages, including storytelling, hands-on activities, food for purchase and more. A traditional haftseen table displaying at least seven (haft) items that refer to new life and renewal, each beginning with the letter “s” (pronounced seen in Persian), will be in the north lobby of the museum’s West Building (Freer Gallery of Art). A full schedule of activities is available online. The museum also offers many digital resources on Nowruz, including arts and crafts activities, podcasts and webinars.

Nowruz is rooted in Zoroastrianism and was celebrated in Iran as early as 3,000 years ago. Today, people in many regions—from West Asia and the Caucasus to Central and South Asia—participate in the 13 days of Nowruz festivities with their own local variations.

More than 6,000 people attended the National Museum of Asian Art’s Nowruz celebration in March 2025.

The museum’s annual Nowruz festival is made possible by the Jahangir and Eleanor Amuzegar Persian Culture Celebrations Fund.