Getting Ready For Iranian New Year

Bright, cheery and inviting, yesterday i found a dandelion on the ledge of the window. Its good sign, they say. Dandelion is letter from the beloved. For years, it was known as an intimate mail which delivers lovers’ words and carries their secrets. Dandelion is also sign of good news, arrival of a new day; Arrival of spring.

Shahryar was helping me to rearrange the carpets. The other day, maid had cleaned all the house and it looked like completely shiny. We together had done “Khane-Tekani”. Mean cleaning the house for New Year. I always feel good when everything is clean and has an especial fresh fragrance. It’s good to be Iranian and Muslim both. I can feel this especial fragrance in all especial eids. Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha and Nowruz.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian solar calendar. It is not an islamic festival. Even if Iranians love to read Quran at the time of new year (they most do it) and carry Quran on their table, but Nowruz is something completely Iranian in a way. There are many other nations who celebrate the first day of spring, but the term Nowruz is especially related to the history of Persia.

The word comes from Old Persian and means “new day/daylight“, and has the same meaning in Kurdish and in New Persian/Farsi as “new day“.

At the time of spring equinox, the first day of spring, the sun is observed to be directly over the equator, and the north and south poles of the Earth lie along the solar terminator; sunlight is evenly divided between the north and south hemispheres.

There are many stories about Nowruz. Yet all of them are a kind of myth. It’s true that after a long time of having cold weather, spring could be very important for people of the past. It was important for them that everything gets alive again and wakes up of a long winter sleep. People of the past had a harmony with nature and that’s why they used to choose their celebrations based on the changes in nature.

From the traditions remained from that era, Iranians grow some kind of seeds – most grain- for the spring. Grain has been always important for people, bcs it’s the main material to make bread. They also paint eggs and make especial foods like “Vegatable Rice with Fish.

This year i used lentil and grain seeds both. Now they are goodly grown up and are ready for the start of new year. You can see them in the above foto beside two big fish. It’s the first Nowruz that Mr Shahryar and i spend together. So i want to cook this fish for him with vegetable rice for lunch of new year. Lucky Mr Shahryar!

We also make esp cookies and the other kind of Iranian sweet, “Miyan Por”. You can see my cookies in the foto, just hot taken out the stove. I painted them with saffron.

There are many words to say. I will explain “Haft Sin” (seven S) in the next entry. I want to buy tulip and Iranian hyacinth too. Some people also celebrate “Chahar Shanbe Suri”, the last wednesday of the year. But i don’t believe in it. So i don’t celebrate it. There are some other people who paint their face black and put red hat on head. They come to streets and sing and play tambourine. People give them money for charity.

Spring is different season. It’s the season of rebirth of the nature. Snow begins to melt. And rivers get filled with spring rains. Most flowers bloom this time of year. Season of forgiveness, mercy and bounty of God toward people, Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal and new life.

I heard many people around the world celebrate it:

Do you also celebrate spring? Share with us, your especial traditions.

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