Iran, Iranian Culture
It’s Hug a Persian Day!
Tuesday, 19 March 2024, 11:06 PM, began Nowruz 1403 (or Persian New Year 2024)
Hug a Persian today and wish them “Eid-eh shoma mobarak” — pronounced “Eyed eh show-ma mow-bah-rack.” This is a primary way of saying “Happy New Year” in Farsi. It’s a traditional greeting for Nowruz.
The holiday of “Nowruz” literally translates as “new day” in Farsi. Common variations for the spelling of “Nowruz” in English are Norooz, Novruz, Nowruz, Navruz, Nauruz, and Newroz. I use “Nowruz” because that’s what Hamid and his fellow Iranian friends use.
To my ear, hearing Hamid and his friends say it, “Nowruz” is pronounced “No-rooz.” The “No” is very clipped when spoken allowed, as if you were going to say “now” but stopped before the “w” made the “ow” sound.
Iran Standard Time meridian is used for the astronomical calculation. Nowruz is the start of the Persian New Year on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, sometimes called the “Shamsi” or Khorshidi” calendar. It begins on the vernal equinox and is the modern standard solar calendar in Iran and Afghanistan.
The Iranian Solar Hijri calendar dates back to 622 CE of the Gregorian calendar. This is when the lunar Muslim calendar was instituted. The Solar Hijri calendar is one of the most accurate solar calendars. It has years of 365 or 366 days. The last day of Esfand begins Nowruz.
Esfand is the twelfth month of the Solar Hijri calendar, normally with twenty-nine days. It has thirty during leap years. On the Gregorian calendar, Esfand begins in February, ending with the vernal equinox in March. The first month of the Solar Hijri calendar spans 31 days and is called “Farvardin.”
The Solar Hijri is an algorithmic calendar more accurate than the Gregorian solar calendar. It uses a sophisticated intercalations timekeeping system, based on precise astronomical observations. Because the calendar began in 622 CE (Gregorian), the current year is 1403 (Solar Hijri) for Nowruz. Because the holiday begins precisely on the vernal equinox, the precise beginning of Nowruz for 1403 (2024) was Tuesday night at 11:06 p.m.
Nowruz is among humanity’s oldest continuously celebrated festivals. It has been observed for more than 3,000 years. The holiday is traditionally celebrated in cultures from Western, Central, and Southern Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, and the Balkans. Nowruz has roots in Zoroastrianism among the Persian people.
Customs vary from culture to culture. However, from those ancient Zoroastrian roots, traditional customs have been handed down across regional cultures. Among those traditional customs are feast gathering, gift exchanging, reciting poetry, ritual dances, fire and water, and laying a table of symbolic objects called the “haft-sin” —pronounced “haft-seen.” The haft-sin is a table arrangement of seven items, the names of which begin with the 15th letter of the Persian alphabet, “sin” — pronounced “seen.” The word “haft” is Farsi for “seven.”
The image above features a haft-sin table, with the seven items:
- Sabzeh, which is sprouts of barley or wheat, mung bean or lentil, grown in a dish
- Samanu, which is a wheat germ sweet pudding
- Senjed which is oleaster, a subspecies of olive
- Serkeh, Farsi for vinegar
- Seeb, Farsi for apple
- Seer, Farsi for garlic
- Somagh, which is sumac, a lemony-flavored, tart spice of dried ground berries from the sumac shrub.
Sumac spice is popular in the Middle East. It is related to the poisonous shrub of the same name. However, the spice sumac shrub produces vibrant red berries. Whereas, the poisonous shrub produces white berries.
Celebrants often include sekke (coins), sombol (hyacinth), suat (a clock, pronounced so-at). The haft-sin usually includes an array of traditional confections, plus symbolic items like a mirror, candles, goldfish, and painted eggs. A book, symbolizing wisdom is usually included as well. These items are all laid upon the best table linens the family owns, usually including a cloth of traditional Persian patterning.
The book on the table may be a copy of the Koran, a book of poetry or wisdom, or (especially in Iran) the Shahnameh — the common English translation is The Book of Kings. It is a national epic poem of Greater Iran, by the revered Persian poet, Ferdowsi.
“Greater Iran” is the sociocultural region of Iranian culture and Persian languages. Shahnameh is one of the world’s longest epic poems created by a single poet. It is considered the greatest in Persian literature. The epic is a sometimes mythical account of the history of the Persian Empire from the creation of the world, up to the seventh-century Muslim conquest.
The haft-sin is the holiday central decoration or showpiece. Iranian families take great care to lay the most beautiful haft-sin they can. It’s a symbol of the holiday and of welcoming, as well as a reflection of the family prosperity and aesthetic sense.
The seven symbols include three for the material world and three for the immaterial world, with one symbol sitting between them tying the two worlds together. The transliteration for the term meaning the material world — i.e., the concrete world we touch and feel and hold — is “donyaheh mahdoodiat.” For the immaterial world — i.e., the world of meaning and ideas — it is “donayeh maanah”).
Weeks before Nowruz, the pot of sprouts must be cultivated. Gifts are bought or made and laid by for the day. Leading up to that day, it is also traditional in Iran to clean the home from top to bottom, to try to settle debts, and to make efforts to be at peace with family and neighbors.
Households begin gathering the seven symbolic items for the haft-sin well in advance too. It is usual as well to collect the non-perishable spices and food stuffs well ahead of time. Everything should be read before Chaharshanbe Suri.
Observed the Wednesday before Nowruz, Chaharshanbe Suri is celebrated by jumping over small bonfires, setting off fireworks, and lighting firecrackers or burning sparklers. Often, celebrants sing “sorkhi to az man, zardi man az” to the fire. This translates roughly to “my yellow is yours, your red is mine.”
Various hopes for the coming year are spoken to the fire. Or, some celebrants may throw pieces of paper into the fire, upon which those hopes are written. Common hopes spoken to the fire are taking away poor health and/or problems and replacing them with warmth, health, wealth, energy, peace, etc.
Chaharshanbe Suri observances also include a Halloween kind of celebration. In Iran, they wear disguises (or costumes) and bang spoons on bowls or plates. They go door to door, banging their dish or pot and collecting packaged treats or traditional confections.
According to my husband, Hamid, on the first day of Nowruz, there will be feasting with family. In Iran, this means traditional Persian dishes, including lamb and/or goat and or herb stuffed fish, rice with tadig (a golden crust of rice, often with potato slices), lavash (Iranian flatbread), sabzi (fresh herbs), ash (soup or stew), a selection of fresh vegetables, mast-o-khiar (a yoghurt and cucumber sauce), doogh (a fizzy and savory chilled yoghurt drink), sharbat-e-albaloo (a sour cherry drink Iranians have been enjoying for thousands of years), dried fruit and nuts, and an array of Persian confections.
Nowruz in Iran lasts for thirteen days. It’s also a time for travel and visiting with one another. On the final day, Sizdebedar. Iranians head outdoors and throw an epic picnic on the thirteenth day. Similar to April Fools’ Day, Sizdebedar is also a day of pulling pranks and playing jokes on family, friends, and neighbors, usually while picnicking together.
During the Sizdebedar celebrations, the sprouting greenery from the haft-sin is thrown away into running water. Before discarding it, young single people may tie the leaves of the greenery. They then throw the prepared greenery away with a wish for a partner.
Now… go forth and hug a Persian and wish them, “Eid-eh shoma mobarak!”
NOTE: Phonetic spellings of words from Farsi into English vary depending on the source. Pronunciations may also vary from region to region, just as someone from North Carolina in the States will have an accent distinct from someone out of New York. As with the spelling and pronunciation of “Nowruz,” my spellings and pronunciations for this article are taken from Hamid and his friends.
FOR MORE: Read more about The Persian Solar Hijri Calendar. Read more about Nowruz from National Geographic in “This ancient festival is a celebration of springtime — and a brand new year” and UNESCO’s “Nowruz: Celebrating the New Year on the Silk Roads.”
There’s a of great info on the holiday in this essay by Sean Ra ☀️🌜💞🌛
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