Persian new year. This Thursday evening at 20:27:07 at the exact moment of the arrival of the spring... Nowrooz is the name of the Iranian/Persian New Year. Nowrooz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals. Nowrooz is the most important holiday in Iran. The traditional herald of the Nowrooz season is a man called Haji Firooz. He symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domoozi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year. His face is painted black (black is an ancient Persian symbol of good luck) and wears a red costume. Then he sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading good cheer and heralds the coming of the New Year. Spring cleaning is commonly performed before Nowrooz. During the Nowrooz holidays, people are expected to visit one another (mostly limited to families, friends and neighbors) in the form of short house visits, which are usually reciprocated. Typically, on the first day of Nowrooz, family members gather around the table, with the Haft Seen on the table or set next to it, and await the exact moment of the arrival of the spring. At that time gifts are exchanged. Haft Seen or the seven Ss is a major traditional table setting of Nowrooz, the traditional Iranian spring celebration. The haft sin table includes seven items starting with the letter S in the Persian alphabet. The items are: Sabzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth. Samanoo – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence. Senjed – the dried fruit of the oleaster tree – symbolizing love. Seer – garlic – symbolizing medicine. Seeb – apples – symbolizing beauty and health. Somaq – sumac berries – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise Serkeh – vinegar – symbolizing age and patience. Other items on the table may include: Sonbol – Hyacinth (plant). Sekkeh – Coins – representative of wealth. Traditional Iranian pastries such as Baghlava, Toot, Naan-Nokhodchi. Aajeel – dried nuts, berries and raisins. Lit candles (enlightenment and happiness). A mirror (symbolizing cleanness and honesty). Decorated eggs, sometimes one for each member of the family (fertility). A bowl of water with goldfish (life within life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving). As an essential object of the Nowrooz table, this goldfish is also very ancient and meaningful and with Zoroastrian connection. Rosewater, believed to have magical cleansing powers the national colors, for a patriotic touch. A holy book (Quran, Avesta) and/or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnameh or the Divan of Hafiz). Sabzi Polo Mahi: The New Years Day traditional meal is called Sabzi Polo Mahi, which is rice with green herbs served with fish. The traditional seasoning for Sabzi Polo are parsley, coriander, chives, dill and fenugreek. Later in the day, the first house visits are paid to the most senior family members. Typically, the youth will visit the elders first, and the elders return their visit later. When in previous year, a family member is deceased, the tradition is to visit that family first (among the elders). The visits naturally have to be relatively short, otherwise one will not be able to visit everybody on their list. A typical visit is around 30 minutes, where you often run into other visiting relatives and friends who happen to be paying a visit to the same house at that time. Because of the house visits, you make sure you have a sufficient supply of pastry, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and special nuts on hand, as you typically serve your visitors with these items with tea or sherbet. Some Nowrooz celebrants believe that whatever a person does on Nowrooz will affect the rest of the year. So, if a person is warm and kind to their relatives, friends and neighbors on Nowrooz, then the new year will be a good one. On the other hand, if there are fights and disagreements, the year will be a bad one. As an extended tradition to the holiday, men may or may not choose to shave their faces until the night of the New Day as a sign of removal of old habits and tendencies and the rebirth of their faith and being. The thirteenth day of the new year festival is Sizdah Bedar (literally meaning passing the thirteenth day, figuratively meaning Passing the bad luck of the thirteenth day). This is a day of festivity in the open, often accompanied by music and dancing, usually at family picnics. At the end of the celebrations on this day, the Sabzeh grown for the Haft Seen (which has symbolically collected all sickness and bad luck) is thrown into running water to exorcise the demons (divs) from the household. It is also customary for young single women to tie the leaves of the Sabzeh before discarding it, so expressing a wish to be married before the next years Sizdah Bedar. Another tradition associated with this day is Dorugh-e Sizdah, literally meaning the lie of the thirteenth, which is the process of lying to someone and making them believe it (similar to April Fools Day).
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 19:34:54 +0000
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