Nowrooz Thread

[Ahmad]

I have created this thread to celebrate the coming of Nowrooz in a few days time. I know many people might not know about Nowrooz, but i am sure some people here do celebrate it. Share your memories, tell us about diffierent customs of Nowrooz in differnt countries etc.

 

[TrMhMt]

I wish happy Nowrooz(we call it Nevruz) for everyone.

I have one wish for my country too. I wish pkk and its supporters will not ruin this special day at Turkiye and we will celebrate it together in peace...

 

[Abii]

happy norouz Ahmad
Do you guys have the charshanbe souri festival in Afghanistan? Sizdah bedar? Or are those Iranian festivals only? I guess even if you guys had it the Taliban would have banned it cuz they are Zoroastrian holidays.
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Here's some info on Norouz
Nowrūz (Persian: نوروز, IPA: [nouˈɾuːz], "New Day", originally "New Light") is the name of the New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations.[2] Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year.[3][4][5][6]

Nowruz is celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and has spread in many other parts of the world, including parts of Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Crimea and some groups in the Balkans.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday and having significance amongst the Zoroastrian ancestors of modern Iranians, the same time is celebrated in parts of the South Asian sub-continent as the new year. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals.

Originally being a Zoroastrian festival, and the holiest of them all, Nowruz is believed to have been invented by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of origin.[7] Since the Achaemenid era the official year has begun with the New Day when the Sun leaves the zodiac of Pisces and enters the zodiacal sign of Aries, signifying the Spring Equinox.

The Jewish festival of Purim is probably adopted from the Persian New Year.[8] It is also a holy day for Sufis, Ismailis, Alawites,[9] Alevis, and adherents of the Bahá'í Faith.[10]

The term Nowruz in writing, first appeared in Persian records in the 2nd century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (c. 648-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the Emperor, also called King of Kings (Shahanshah), of Persia on Nowruz. The significant of Nowruz in the Achaemenid empire was such that the great Persian king Cambyses II's appointing as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the New Year festival (Nowruz).[11]

The UN's General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Nowruz, describing it a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years.[12][13] During the meeting of The Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage of the United Nations, held between 28 September – 2 October 2009 in Abu Dhabi, Nowrūz was officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[14][15][16][17]

 

[Abii]

Nourooz is by faaar the most important holiday in Iran and it has been celebrated for thousands of years.
here are some pics from celebrations in Iran.

ancient Iranians preparing for Norouz

this one's a bit of a weird tradition and I don't know when it began but every house hold prepares a table with 7 items starting with the letter "S" in the Persian alphabet (it's called "haft seen" or "seven s).

The Haft Sīn items are:

* sabzeh - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth
* samanu - a sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence
* senjed - the dried fruit of the oleaster tree - symbolizing love
* sīr - garlic - symbolizing medicine
* sīb - apples - symbolizing beauty and health
* somaq - sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
* serkeh - vinegar - symbolizing age and patience.

Other items on the table may include:

* Sonbol - Hyacinth (plant)
* Sekkeh - Coins - representative of wealth
* traditional Iranian pastries such as baghlava, toot, naan-nokhodchi
* Aajeel - dried nuts, berries and raisins
* lit candles (enlightenment and happiness)
* a mirror (symbolizing cleanness and honesty)
* decorated eggs, sometimes one for each member of the family (fertility)
* a bowl of water with goldfish (life within life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving). As an essential object of the Nowruz table, this goldfish is also "very ancient and meaningful" and with Zoroastrian connection.[62]
* rosewater, believed to have magical cleansing powers
* the national colours, for a patriotic touch
* a holy book (e.g., the Avesta, Qur'an, Bible, Torah, or Kitáb-i-Aqdas) and/or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnameh or the Divan of Hafez)

haji firooz
The traditional herald of the Nowruz season is a man called Hājī Fīrūz (or Khwāja Pīrūz). He symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year.

charshanbe suri (fire festival)
Chahārshanbe-Sūri (Persian: چهارشنبه سوری, pronounced Chārshambe-Sūri) meaning Wednesday Feast, from the word sour[citation needed] which means feast in Persian is an ancient Iranian festival dating back to at least 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era.[1] Also called the Festival of Fire, it is a prelude to Nowruz, which marks the arrival of spring. Traditionally celebrated on the last Tuesday night of the year, Chahrshanbeh Soori has, since the Iranian revolution, been marked on the evening before the last Wednesday.

sizdah bedar
Sizdahbedar or Sizdah Be-dar (Persian Sizdah Bedar ) is the name of a ceremony in Persian Culture. Sizdah is the Persian term for thirteen. Leaving the house on the Thirteenth Day of Farvardin (the first month of Iranian calendar), and joyfully spending the day outdoors have been a national tradition since ancient times in Iran. Sizdah Bedar (in English: Getting rid of the Thirteenth) has been possibly considered as a tradition because some people believe the thirteen is an unlucky number, and everybody should get rid of the thirteen.

 

[Ahmad]

Do you guys have the charshanbe souri festival in Afghanistan? Sizdah bedar? Or are those Iranian festivals only? I guess even if you guys had it the Taliban would have banned it cuz they are Zoroastrian holidays.

Dorood and Happy Novrooz Abii, yes, Novrooz is a big celebration in Afghanistan same thing goes to Tajikistan, Samarqand, Bukhara and other Tajik area of CARs. We do have all the above with the exception of 4Shanbe Suri, it has pretty much died now. I have yet to read your contribution in this thread.

do you have Samanak( سمنک ) and Haft Mewa( هفت میوه ) in Iran? Samank is also a very big part of Nowrooz. We will inshallah cook samanak this year, although it wont have the specifications what we have back home because a large number of women gather to cook it over the night singing etc.

 

[justanobserver]

I thought this was only celebrated by Parsis

 

[Ahmad]

Check these ones Abii:

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[Devil Soul]

enjoy it

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

I thought this was only celebrated by Parsis

It's more of a spring festival. Cultural, not religious. In your NW aamade bahaar brings the same happiness as aamade baaraan in India.

 

[Aspahbod]

do you have Samanak( سمنک ) and Haft Mewa( هفت میوه ) in Iran? Samank is also a very big part of Nowrooz. We will inshallah cook samanak this year, although it wont have the specifications what we have back home because a large number of women gather to cook it over the night singing etc.

We don't have haft mive but we have Samanak. But it's name is changed to Smanu (سمن&#1608 here. Your dialect (Tajiki and Dari if you speak) is much more similar to middle Persian than the Iranian one.

 

[Spring Onion]

happy nowrooz to zoroastrians .

many shias in Pakistan also celebrate it

 

[Ahmad]

happy nowrooz to zoroastrians .

many shias in Pakistan also celebrate it

to the muslims as well Jana.

 

[Ahmad]

We don't have haft mive but we have Samanak. But it's name is changed to Smanu (سمن&#1608 here. Your dialect (Tajiki and Dari if you speak) is much more similar to middle Persian than the Iranian one.

In Samarqand, Bukhara and Tajikistan they call it Samana( سمنا ), have you ever heard Samarqandi and Bukhari persian?

 

[Spring Onion]

to the muslims as well Jana.

sir originally its a zoroastrian festival and mostly Muslims dont celebrate it though those from areas having proximity with Iran celebrate it and here in Pakistan some shias having roots in Iran do so and also carry on some rituals which are zoroastrian. some also keep fast.

but none the less Happy nowrooz to those who celebrate it

 

[fida jan]

happy noruz to our parsi brothers...