Your Home screen
The Parsi community has its own Home screen in OIOA. Choose Parsi in Settings and you’ll see:
- Today’s Roj and Mah, the day and month of the Zoroastrian calendar.
- Your calendar of choice: Shahenshahi, Kadmi or Fasli.
- The six Gahambars, the seasonal festivals, as they fall in your calendar.
- Everything every community shares: holidays and long weekends, reminders, family, groups, cards, the GST calculator and more.
Calendar calculations run on your phone, so the Parsi Home screen works offline.
Roj and Mah
The Zoroastrian year has 12 months (Mah) of 30 days (Roj), followed by 5 Gatha days, making 365 days. Each of the 30 days and each of the 12 months is named after a divine being, an Amesha Spenta or a Yazata: Roj Hormazd, Roj Bahman, Roj Ardibehesht and so on. When the day’s name matches the month’s name, the day is celebrated as a jashan or parab: Avan Roj of Avan Mah, Adar Roj of Adar Mah, and others.
Many Parsi families remember birthdays and anniversaries, and remembrance days for loved ones, by Roj and Mah. OIOA shows today’s Roj and Mah so you always know where the year stands. Read Parsi Roj and Mah for all 30 day names and 12 month names.
Three calendars, one community
Parsis in India follow three calendars:
- Shahenshahi, which most Parsis in India follow.
- Kadmi, which runs one month ahead of Shahenshahi.
- Fasli, which adds a leap day so that Navroz stays on 21 March.
Shahenshahi and Kadmi have no leap day, so over the centuries their new year has moved through the seasons. OIOA lets you choose the calendar your family follows, and treats all three with the same care. Calendar methods explains the history and the differences.
Days that matter
- Navroz, the new year, falls on different Gregorian dates in each calendar. Many Parsis also celebrate Jamshedi Navroz on 21 March.
- Khordad Sal, the birthday of Zarathushtra, on Khordad Roj of Farvardin Mah.
- The Muktad, the days of remembrance at the end of the year, leading into the Gatha days.
- The six Gahambars, each five days long, celebrated with jashans and communal meals.
- Jashans on days when Roj and Mah share a name.
Set reminders for these, or for a family Roj birthday.
In your language
The Parsi Home screen is available in English and Gujarati, the languages most Parsi families use day to day, and in the other supported languages. The EN ⇄ local-language toggle switches the whole page. See multi-language.
A small community, given the same care
The Parsi community is small in number and immense in its contribution to India. In OIOA it has the same place as every other community: its own Home screen, its own calendars, and the same depth. If you notice anything missing or not quite right, such as a jashan, a spelling or a calendar detail, please tell us. Community members know their traditions best.
More on the Parsi Home screen
- Calendar methodsThe three Parsi calendars explained: how Shahenshahi, Kadmi and Fasli differ, why Navroz falls on different dates, and how to choose yours in OIOA.
- GahambarsWhat the six Gahambars celebrate, when they fall in the Zoroastrian year, and how OIOA's Parsi Home screen shows them in your chosen calendar.