Thousands of people crowded the parade route on Madison Avenue for the return of the Persian Day Parade. The parade celebrates Nowruz, the Persian New Year and also coincides with Spring equinox. Many of the dancers wore bright colors to signify the return of life to the land as winter leaves and spring arrives. Persia refers to a region in the Middle East with several countries with the main one being. Several colorful floats had recreations of important landmarks of that area. Traditional characters for Nowruz like Haji Firuz got the celebration kicked off. A perennial favorite of the parade is a group that always gets lots of cheers from the crowd. The Bahar Dance Ensemble showed off their moves to the crowd.
