Nowruz is an ancient festival that originated in the Iranian plateau. This celebration is Iran’s most important event of the year and is also celebrated in other countries such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, some parts of India, Iraq, Turkey, and more… Nowruz is created of two words “Now” which translates to “New” and “Ruz” which translates to “Day”, together the word “Nowruz” translates to “New day” in Persian. This festival is full of dancing, music, color, joy and freshness.
Nowruz is celebrating the beginning of spring and the end of winter. Nowruz is celebrated for thirteen days and has its own unique traditions. Before the day of Nowruz arrives those who celebrate this event would deep clean their home(spring cleaning) which is called “Khane Tekani”. The literal translation for this word is “Shaking the house” as when the new year approaches our homes need to be fully cleared of dust and untidiness. During Nowruz, people buy new clothes and wear them during the days of the new year. Relatives and family members to visit each other’s houses; this tradition is called “Eid didani” which means “Greeting during the festival”. It is also common for elders who host are hosting the get together, to give the younger visitors a gift which is most commonly a portion of money.
One of the most important traditions of Nowruz is setting up a table called “Haft-sin” which translates to “The seven S” in Persian and it’s basically a table created of seven items starting with the letter “S” in Persian. Each of these items symbolizes something and they are arranged with other items that don’t start with the letter S but still have their own unique and meaningful symbols. The seven items are Seer (Garlic), Seeb (Apple), Serke (Vinegar), Somagh(Sumac), Sabzeh(Wheatgrass), Samanu(A sweet paste made from germinated wheat), and Senjed(Oleaster fruit). These objects symbolize many different things but generally, Sabzeh symbolizes rebirth, Samanu symbolizes fertility, Garlic symbolizes health and medicine, Apple symbolizes beauty, Senjed represents love and affection, Vinegar represents patience and finally Somac represents sunrise and the victory of good over evil. Overtime, other items were also added such as Seke (Coin) representing prosperity and wealth, Saat (Clock) representing the passage of time, Sombol(Hyacinth) which symbolizes springtime. There are other traditional objects put on the table that don’t start with the letter “sin” in Persian but still have meaningful symbolizing, such as goldfish which shows “the passage of life”, a mirror showing “self-reflection”, candles showing “enlightenment”, a book which represents “Wisdom” and colored eggs which show “the renewal of life”. The book that is put on the table is usually the Quaran which is put up by the Muslim population that celebrates Nowruz or any other religious book. However, this case doesn’t apply to everyone since not everyone celebrating this event is religious. In that case, another book is set on the table known as “Fal-e-Hafez”, which is a popular poetry collection written by the popular Iranian poet “Hafez”.
Traditional Haft-sin table
When the minute of the new year approaches, all family members gather around the table and welcome the new year with joy, and on the 13th and final day, family members go to nature together and enjoy the landscape. This day is called “sizda-be-dar” which dates back to the Zoroastrian goddess of rain and water, of whole everyone would traditionally ask for rain, for the sake of the fertility of their land fields.
Iranians celebrate the last Wednesday of the year and call it “Chaharshanbe Suri”. Chaharshanbe Suri also known as the the jumping-over-fire ceremony, occurs on the eve of the Wednesday before Nowruz and its heaps of fun. Chaharshanbe-suri is created of the two words “Chahrshanbe” meaning Wednesday, and “Suri” meaning Scarlet. During this event the most popular tradition is to jump over fire as in Zoroastrianism fire is the representation of purity and it is meant to cleanse those who jump over it. While they jump over the fire they say “Zardie man az to, sorkhie to az man” which translates to “May my paleness be your and may your redness be mine”. While jumping over fire those who jump are cleansing themselves from any illness or bad luck.
Who would not love to do this?
This new year was not the same as other years. This Nowruz was the first one away from the comfort of home. It was in a foreign country where our tradition of welcoming spring as the beginning of the new year was not the center of attention. Unlike Iran where there are at least two weeks of holiday, there are no holidays for Nowruz in Canada and we had to go to school like every other day. We couldn’t visit our family members for Eid didani or gather all together and jump over fire for Chaharshanbeh suri. This Nowruz felt different from the other ones. This one didn’t truly feel like Nowruz to me. Many people don’t even have the chance to celebrate this event with their family members. However, even with all the downfalls it is a blessing that we are still able to keep this tradition alive.
This tradition has been celebrated for many years, and hopefully, for many more years to come. It is the time of the year when everyone can forget their sorrow and enjoy the upcoming of spring together regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or color. Nowruz does not only represent joy and spring but also unity. There is a saying in Iran that goes “Har roozetan Nowruz, Nowruzetan Pirooz,” which means “May your everyday be a new day as joyful as Nowruz, happy Nowruz”.