Source: The Mercury News/Bay Area News Group
http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_8654555
Persian New Year arrived in Silicon Valley at 10:48:19 p.m. March 19. Every year the 13-day festival starts at the exact second of the vernal equinox, depending on when the sun directly faces the Earth's equator between March 19 and 21.
Thousands of Iranian-Americans in Silicon Valley seized this first moment of spring to say "Happy New Year" to one another.
"Sometimes the New Year's comes very late at night or early in the morning. We'll stay awake for it no matter what time it is," says Nirvana Anoosheh, a local dentist originally from Iran.
Anoosheh adds that she hopes Persian New Year's Day, also known as Norouz, will someday be as well recognized as other cultural holidays such as Jewish New Years and St. Patrick's Day on American calendars.