On Thursday, my brilliant third grade class went to my former teacher's wonderful second grade class to celebrate Persian New Year also known as Nowrouz. Nowrouz means New Day in Farsi. Persian New Year is the first day of spring, which falls on March 20th.
The exact second this glorious event takes place, one year being precisely 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 50 seconds, is calculated. When it occurs, the oldest member of the family kisses and hugs everyone and presents the children with an Eidi (a New Year gift), which is usually in the form of new currency, gold coins, or jewelry.
Here is a story of how it started:
In Iran more than 7000 years ago, King Jamsheed was devoted to his country. The whole country was sorrowful and depressed because for one whole season, they had been lingering inside since the climate was very frigid. As a result, many people became ill. King Jamsheed wanted the people to be jubilant, so he planned a celebration for the country. It made everyone forget about the winter and move on to spring.
First there is the haft-seen. The haft-seen is a table that Iranians place certain foods and plants on. There is sprouted lentils, a dry fruit, apple, a sweet, vinegar, crushed sumac berries, and garlic. Every Persian enhances the haft-seen in their own special way.
Before Nowrouz, there are a lot of things to do such as spring cleaning and Char Shambeh Soori. Char Shambeh Soori is when you jump over a burning fire. You can read all about it on Hannah's Hacienda. A few days ago, while I was jumping over the fire, I burned my ankle. That was very careless of me. I highly discourage anyone trying this at home without adult supervision.
After that, finally comes Persian New Year. Next, we go to relatives' homes and collect eidis. Eidis (ey•deez) are money that we collect from our friends and family that is a gift for the new year.
Seezdah Bedar comes afterward. Seezdah means 13 in Farsi. Seezdah Bedar is exactly 13 days after Nowrouz. This event is an annual outdoor picnic. Usually, we go to a park with a lot of friends and family, and the children always play on the delightful playground while all the adults are babbling with their buddies, play backgammon, or cards.
Here are some questions for you:
Have you ever been to an Iranian home at this time of year and celebrated with them? Would you like to?
If so, what was a similarity and difference to the way I celebrate this special event?
For the people that are Iranian, what is your favorite part of Nowrouz and what about this is most important to you?
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| Our Haft-Seen for our class celebration. |
Here is a story of how it started:
In Iran more than 7000 years ago, King Jamsheed was devoted to his country. The whole country was sorrowful and depressed because for one whole season, they had been lingering inside since the climate was very frigid. As a result, many people became ill. King Jamsheed wanted the people to be jubilant, so he planned a celebration for the country. It made everyone forget about the winter and move on to spring.
First there is the haft-seen. The haft-seen is a table that Iranians place certain foods and plants on. There is sprouted lentils, a dry fruit, apple, a sweet, vinegar, crushed sumac berries, and garlic. Every Persian enhances the haft-seen in their own special way.
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For example, here is my haft-seen from this year. |
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Now here is my grandma's haft-seen from last year. |
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Here is a picture of Char Shambeh Soori from last Nowrouz. |
Seezdah Bedar comes afterward. Seezdah means 13 in Farsi. Seezdah Bedar is exactly 13 days after Nowrouz. This event is an annual outdoor picnic. Usually, we go to a park with a lot of friends and family, and the children always play on the delightful playground while all the adults are babbling with their buddies, play backgammon, or cards.
Here are some questions for you:
Have you ever been to an Iranian home at this time of year and celebrated with them? Would you like to?
If so, what was a similarity and difference to the way I celebrate this special event?
For the people that are Iranian, what is your favorite part of Nowrouz and what about this is most important to you?
