Nowruz is the Persian, or Iranian, spring celebration of the New Year. It’s the most important festival of the year in Iran, and it's a public holiday there and in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania and other countries in South and Central Asia. It’s a happy occasion, and there may be as many as 13 days’ holiday from school!
Nowruz begins at the exact day, hour and minute of the spring equinox, when night and day are of equal length. This is usually on 21 March. It’s the day when winter changes into spring, and it feels like a new beginning.
People prepare for Nowruz by cleaning the whole house, and everyone in the family helps out. Carpets, windows and curtains are cleaned. Anything broken is repaired or replaced. Silverware is polished. The house is decorated with flowers. By doing this spring cleaning, people wash away the bad things from the previous year and prepare for better things to come in the new year. They also put on brand new clothes to symbolise a fresh start.
It’s important to start the year well: clean, smart, relaxed, happy and surrounded by loved ones. So, just before Nowruz, the whole family comes together. They celebrate around a special table in their house. It’s called the haftseen, which means ‘seven Ss’. On it, there are seven special objects, all of which begin with the ‘s’ sound in the Farsi language and which symbolise something. There are actually more than seven, but here are some of the most common: somaq (a bright red spice made from crushed berries; the symbol of sunrise and the spice of life), sonbol (hyacinth; the symbol of spring), sekeh (coins; the symbol of prosperity), senjed (the sweet dry fruit of the lotus tree; the symbol of love), seeb (apples; the symbol of health and beauty), samanu (a sweet pudding made from wheat; the symbol of the sweetness of life), sabzeh (sprouted wheat grass; the symbol of rebirth and the renewal of nature).
Some other symbolic objects are placed on the table, depending on the traditions of each family. These include a goldfish, painted eggs, candles and a mirror.
As the New Year makes its way
Through the cold winter…
Sending you a warm ‘Hello’
and wishing you a
Happy New Year!
