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This month I decided to give our readers, especially non-Iranians, a simple explanation of Norooz, the Persian New Year. Contents are adopted from writings of Goli Khatibloo and Dr. Ali Akbar Jafarey, to whom I am grateful.
As the winter months come to an end, Mother Nature turns its frost-bitten face towards the spring sun, in hopes of feeling its warmth once again and witnessing new life blooming everywhere. It is during this time, the spring equinox, that Persians all over the world celebrate Norooz, the Persian New Year. Unlike the Christian New Year that occurs at the exact time every year, Norooz is calculated according to the days, minutes, and seconds the earth takes to go once around the sun, exactly at the spring equinox, therefore causing it to be at a different time each year. This year’s Norooz is on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at exactly 9:45:12 PM PST.
How is Norooz Celebrated?
The Norooz celebrations begin with the ritual of “Chahar Shanbeh Soori” or Wednesday Fire. The celebration takes place on the last Tuesday night of the year and its main purpose is to give thanks for the good fortunes of the past year and to release any remaining evil. Bonfires are prepared with wood or brush after sunset and people take turns jumping over the fire and chanting: “Sorkhi-e to az man, zardi-e man az to,” which translates to, "Your redness (health) is mine; my paleness (pain) is yours." The fire symbolizes the light and goodness that people need to see themselves through the unluckiness of the night and the end of the year, while awaiting the arrival of spring and good fortune.
The Norooz celebrations symbolize novelty, freshness, forgetting past grudges, and wishing for a happy and prosperous new year ahead.
A layout (sofreh haft-seen) of seven items beginning with the letter ‘S’ is prepared in all homes. These items are all symbols of good luck, prosperity and a new beginning, and the seven items represent the seven angelic heralds of life, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty. They include:
Sabzeh – wheat sprout grown to represent new growth and prosperity,
Samanoo – a thick brownish paste derived from wheat, representing sprouting spring and the time for happy growth,
Seeb – apple representing health and beauty,
Senjed – sweet, dry fruit of Lotus tree representing love,
Seer – garlic representing medicine,
Somaq – comes in crushed form of sumaq berries representing the color of sunrise. Sunrise is said to be the time when Good conquers Evil.
Serkeh – vinegar representing age and patience.
In addition to the seven ‘S’ items, other items are traditionally also added, such as:
Coins – representing prosperity and wealth,
Painted Eggs – representing fertility,
Goldfish in a bowl – representing life and end of a year,
Hyacinth flower – representing beauty,
Mirror – representing images and reflections of Creation. Persians believe that creation took place on the first day of spring.
Candles – representing enlightenment and happiness.
How Long Do
the Celebrations Last?
During Norooz everyone wears new clothing for the occasion and gathers around the ‘sofreh’ to ring in the New Year. The young visit the elders and pay their respects, and the elders give lucky money to the young ones of the family. This period of rejoicing goes on for 13 days where people visit relatives and friends. Schools are closed. The 13th day of Norooz is called "Sizdah Bedar" and it is spent outdoors. Since 13 is considered an unlucky number, it is a bad omen to stay inside the house on that day. People will leave their homes to go to the parks for a festive picnic. On this day, people also throw away their ‘Sabzeh’ because they believe that it is bad luck if any Sabzeh is left in the house after the thirteenth day. It is also believed that unwed girls can wish for a husband by tying a knot between green shoots, symbolizing a marital bond. Norooz is the most ancient heritage of our Persian ancestors. It is observed not only in every corner of Iran, but also anywhere Persians live. Many people have come to know Norooz and participate in its festivities and ceremonies. This in itself is a proper means of transmitting the Persian culture to the other parts of the world. Persians living abroad have in their new homes acquainted the locals with aspects of their culture. Their children take Norooz ceremonies to their schools and colleges. The florist and pet shop salesmen now realize that whoever seeks hyacinths and little gold fish close to the spring time, must be Persian.
So if you see thousands of people at Irvine’s Mason Park on Sunday March 30th, don’t be alarmed. They are local Iranian Americans celebrating ‘Sizdah Bedar’.
Happy Norooz!
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