First of all, I want to say I hope all of you are safe and well. I hope you are washing your hands and staying in as much as possible. I hope all your loved ones are with you and healthy. I know so many aspects of life have been disrupted now as the whole world deals with this crisis, including many of our holidays and celebrations, such as St. Patrick's Day and, in the future, Easter; it may seem impossible to think about parties or holidays at this time.
But now more than ever, beyond taking care of our physical health, we must also remember to care for our emotional and mental health as well. Life can go on, even if we must adapt our routines and plans around it. So, yes, remember to practice social/physical distancing and hand-washing; keep your overall health up; don't hoard food or cleaning supplies or (for God's sake and the sake of all those who are ill) medical equipment; be patient and kind.
But also celebrate. Celebrate holidays and birthdays and good grades and good weather and anything else you can, now more than ever. It is vital that we keep our spirits up in these dark times.
Therefore, I am pleased today to talk about the feast of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, a holiday that celebrates life and renewal.
Nowruz
Alternate Name: Norooz, Nawrouz, Newroz, Novruz, Nowrouz, Nauryz (variant spellings); Persian New Year
Date: Spring Equinox
Place: Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, Central Asia, United States
Type: National; Cultural; Religious
Celebrants: peoples of Middle East, Central Asia, and their descendants; followers of Zoroastrianism
Nowruz, which means "new day" in Persian, is the celebration of the New Year and the coming of spring; it begins on the Spring equinox (Mar. 21 this year) and lasts for 13 days. Many other cultures associate the new year with springtime, including several South- and Southeast Asian countries, with celebrations such as the Thai traditional New Year's festival of Songkran and the Hindu springtime "Festival of Colors", Holi. It is celebrated primarily by people in Iran and India, near the Middle East and Central Asia, and diaspora communities such as in the United States.
Nowruz, a feast that is at least 3,000 years old, has its roots in Zoroastrianism, considered the oldest monotheistic religion in the world, and the oldest still-practiced faith with an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 worshipers worldwide. Zoroastrianism, which believes in an almighty benevolent creator god, heaven and hell, and a day of judgement, likely influenced the three great Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroastrianism was also the state religion of the Persian Empire for over a thousand years.
According to Persian legends, the Zoroastrian creator god, Ahura Mazda, ordered the hero-king Jamshid to battle Ahriman, the evil spirit/god of darkness and death; in defeating Ahriman, Jamshid saved the people from a devastating winter and brought life and light back to the world. The Persian epic Shahnameh or Book of Kings claims that afterward "The world's creatures gathered in wonder about him and scattered jewels on him, and called this day the New Day, or Nowruz.”
Though originally a religious feast, in modern times Nowruz has become a widely-celebrated cultural holiday, regardless of religion; it is so enmeshed in Iranian culture, for example, that the Islamic revolutionaries, who viewed the celebrations as sinful for its pagan origins, were unable to abolish the celebration after the 1979 revolution. Thus Nowruz is sometimes seen as a symbol of resistance and victory, seen in one of the traditional greetings, Nowruz pirooz, or "Nowruz victorious."
During this festive time, people celebrate with family, friends, and neighbors, hosting parades and picnics, and visiting loved ones. They will also often recite poetry or verses from the Quran. Another famous custom is the leaping over bonfires in the hopes of acquiring good health, likely taken from the Zoroastrian view of fire as sacred and purifying. Celebrants will also usually clean their homes to literally and symbolically clean away the dirt and evil things from the previous year. Often, children go door to door asking for sweets, similar to Halloween in America.
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One of the most important aspects of Nowruz is the haft-seen altar; haft-seen means "seven S's", and a table or altar is decorated with seven objects that start with S in Persian:
Sabzeh -- a sprout that grows to represent rebirth and renewal
Senjed -- a sweet dried fruit that represents love
Seeb -- an apple; symbolizes beauty and health.
Seer -- garlic; for its medicinal properties
Samanu -- a rich, sweet pudding; represents fertility and wealth
Serkeh -- vinegar; for patience and the wisdom of age
Sumac -- herb/spice whose deep red color reflects the sunrise, the start of a new day.
Other items on the haft-seen include colored eggs, candles, a mirror, and goldfish in a bowl, symbolizing fertility, reflection, and life. Traditional food during this holiday are: sabzi polo mahi, rice mixed with herbs and served with white fish; ash reshteh or a thick green soup with noodles, chickpeas and beans; and kuku sabzi, which is a vegetable frittata. Pastries include baklava; naan-nokhodchi (chickpea cookies with pistachio); and ajeel (dried berries and raisins).
In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Nowruz to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and in 2010 the UN General Assembly established March 21st as International Nowruz Day; the UN believes that Nowruz plays "a significant role in strengthening the ties among peoples based on mutual respect and the ideals of peace and good neighbourliness" and promotes "values of peace and solidarity."
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Persian New Year! As always, please let me know if I have misrepresented anything regarding this wonderful holiday, and send me any celebrations you want me to cover next!
Please stay safe and healthy during this time. God bless.
And nowruz mobārak! Sad sāl bé een sālhā -- may there be 100 more happy years.
References:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newroz_Istanbul(4).jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/unisvienna/27050509068
https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/what-nowruz-explained-persian-new-year-celebrated
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