A very happy and blessed ‘Nauroz’ to all our readers celebrating this glorious spring festival, which dates back to the beginning of Persian history. The most prominent theme in the festival is the spring equinox, which occurs on the first day of spring. This reawakening symbolises the triumph of good over the evil forces of darkness, manifested in the cold darkness of winter — ‘the point when the oppressive presence of the bitter cold winter begins to recede and the lively and hopeful spring begins.’
The ‘Nauroz’ festival, which lasts for about two weeks, celebrates the rebirth of nature — houses are decorated profusely with flowers and greenery; guests are welcome with a sweetmeat offering at the door then are required to look into a mirror in keeping with ancient tradition. ‘Khouneh Tekouni’ — spring cleaning or complete cleaning of the house, is commonly performed before the big day and the wearing of new clothes is a must. On the first day, family members gather around the table and await the exact moment of the arrival of the spring — the time having been determined beforehand — and gifts are exchanged. Families commence the celebrations by visiting the elders of their family, then the rest of their relatives and finally their friends, with the young people visiting the elders first to pay their respect, while the elders return their visit later. Pastry, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and special nuts are kept as visitors are served with these items with tea or sherbet.
There are many customs attached to the celebration of ‘Nauroz’ and two ‘must do’ traditions are ‘Haft Chin’ and ‘Haft Sin’ The term ‘Haft Chin’ is derived from the word Chin meaning ‘to place’ and ‘Haft’ the number 7. The items are: mirror (symbolising sky) apple (earth) candles (fire) rose water (water) sabzi (vegetables
and plants) goldfish (animals) and painted eggs (humans and fertility) placed in a prominent position inside the home. ‘Haft Seen’ or the seven ‘S’s is a traditional table setting of Nauroz. It includes seven items starting with the letter ‘S’ or ‘seen’ in the Persian alphabet. sabze/plants (symbolizing rebirth) samanu (affluence) senjed (the dried fruit of the oleaster tree - love) sir/garlic (medicine) sib/apples (beauty and health) sumac berries (the colour of sunrise) and serkeh/vinegar (age and patience.)
Some people believe that whatever a person does on this day will affect the rest of the year, so if a person is warm and kind to their relatives, friends and neighbours then the year will be a good one. On the other hand, if there are fights and disagreements, the year will be a bad one.
Historians admit they do not know precisely when nor how the festival emerged in ancient Persia and have expressed divergent opinions concerning its historical background. After extensive scientific research, a prominent Iranian university professor claims that ‘the Nauroz Festival emerged 8,000 years ago.’ Today, after the lapse of thousands of years, people of Iranian descent from all walks of life living in countries all over the world, celebrate the festival. Nowruz; Nauroz; Navroz (spell it how you will since there are over a dozen ways to do so) means ‘New Day.’ It is widely referred to as the ‘Persian New Year’ and celebrated from March 20/21, with each community enthusiastically celebrating the festival, irrespective of their language, age, gender, race, ethnicity or social status.
— Ishrat Hyatt