Nawroz 2026: When Is Afghan New Year and How the Shamsi Calendar Works
Nawroz 2026: When Is Afghan New Year and How the Shamsi Calendar Works
Nawroz 2026 falls on or around 20–21 March 2026, marking the first day of Hamal and the start of Afghan Shamsi year 1405. Nawroz is the Afghan and Persian New Year, timed to the spring equinox — the moment day and night are almost equal and the new solar year begins.
What is Nawroz?
Nawroz (also spelled Nowruz, literally "new day") is the New Year festival of Afghanistan and several neighbouring cultures. It is not tied to a religion but to nature: it begins at the exact spring equinox, so the date shifts by a day or so each year. In the Afghan Shamsi calendar the year always opens on 1 Hamal, which lands around 21 March.
What is the Afghan Shamsi calendar?
The Shamsi, or Solar Hijri, calendar is the official civil calendar of Afghanistan. It is a solar calendar — its months track the sun and the seasons — and it counts years from the Hijra in 622 CE, the same starting point as the Islamic lunar (Hijri) calendar. Because it follows the sun, Nawroz and the seasons stay fixed to the same time of year, unlike the lunar Hijri months, which drift about 11 days earlier each year.
The 12 Afghan months
The Shamsi year has 12 months. The first six each have 31 days, the next five have 30 days, and the final month, Hoot, has 29 days (30 in a leap year):
- Hamal, Sawr, Jawza, Saratan, Asad, Sunbula — 31 days each (spring and summer).
- Mizan, Aqrab, Qaws, Jadi, Dalwa — 30 days each (autumn and early winter).
- Hoot — 29 or 30 days (late winter), ending just before Nawroz.
Afghanistan uses zodiac names such as Hamal (Aries) and Sawr (Taurus), while Iran uses different Persian names for the very same calendar.
How to convert Nawroz and other dates
If you have a date in one calendar and need it in another, you can convert Shamsi, Miladi (Gregorian) and Hijri instantly online. Use the Afghan Date Converter to switch a single date between all three calendars, or browse a full month grid with today's date on the Afghanistan Calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What Shamsi year begins at Nawroz 2026?
Nawroz 2026 starts Shamsi year 1405, which runs until Nawroz 2027.
Why does the Nawroz date change slightly each year?
Nawroz is fixed to the spring equinox, which occurs at a slightly different moment each year, so the Gregorian date can fall on 20 or 21 March.
Is the Afghan calendar the same as the Iranian one?
They share the same Solar Hijri system, with identical year numbers and day counts. Only the month names differ — Afghanistan uses zodiac names like Hamal, while Iran uses Persian names like Farvardin.
Curious what today's date is in the Afghan calendar? Check it instantly, and convert any date, with the free tools on MTempMail.
