Nowruz 2021: What it is and how to celebrate

Nowruz 2021: What it is and how to celebrate

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(CNN) – For millions of people around the world, Nowruz is a small celebration. Think of Christmas, New Year’s and Fourth of July together – and add fire celebrations, delicious meats, rice and spices, family gatherings, street dances and hard pots on pots.

But it is also much more than that. Nowruz “promotes values ​​of peace and solidarity between genders and within families,” the United Nations said. It is a time of reconciliation and neighborliness, contributing to cultural diversity and friendship between people and different communities.

And we can all use it, no matter what it’s called.

What is it?

Nowruz is the Persian New Year. But you do not have to be Persian to celebrate it. Also known as Nauryz, Navruz or Nowrouz, it means ‘new day’. The new year begins Saturday, March 20th.

This is not a coincidence, it falls on the first day of spring. The Iranian calendar is a solar calendar, which means that the time is determined by astronomical observations by the movement of the earth around the sun. The first day of the year therefore always begins with the natural phenomenon of the spring equinox.

It is not a religious holiday, but rather a universal celebration of a new beginning: wishing prosperity and welcoming the future while throwing away the past. Therefore, families use this time to deep clean their homes and closets and buy fresh clothes.

It is a month-long celebration, filled with parties, artwork, street performances and public rituals.

And yes, a lot of food.

Who celebrates it?

March 21 was officially recognized by the United Nations as International Nowruz Day in 2010 at the request of countries including Afghanistan, Albania, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Kyrgyz youths take part in the traditional play 'Kyz Kumay' ('kiss a girl') on 21 March 2013 during the celebrations of Nowruz in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.

Kyrgyz youths take part in the traditional game ‘Kyz Kumay’ (‘kiss a girl’) on 21 March 2013 during the Nowruz celebrations in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.

VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP / Getty Images

But it’s even wider. More than 300 million people worldwide celebrate Nowruz – and have been celebrating it for more than 3,000 years – from the Balkans to the Black Sea basin to Central Asia and the Middle East and elsewhere.

Hundreds of American communities also celebrate Nowruz.

Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Persian populations outside of Iran, is proud to host the largest Nowruz festival in the country, with day-long festivities for visitors of any age. You can also find a Nowruz celebration in almost every state in the country. Although, due to the coronavirus pandemic, festivals will be understandably dampened this year.

How do you celebrate Nowruz?

As with most holidays, Nowruz has its own traditions.

It contains the table “Haft Sin”, which contains seven symbolic items beginning with the Farsi letter “S.” These include wheatgrass, herbs, dried foods and vinegar, all of which represent different hopes for the new year, including health, wealth and prosperity. For example, “Sir”, the word for garlic, represents protection against disease and evil, while vinegar, or “Serkeh”, represents longevity and patience. The tables also contain mirrors, candles, decorated eggs, water and various fruits.

Many families also place a goldfish on the table for happiness and poetry books or the Koran to symbolize education and enlightenment.

Iranian families also welcome the new year with sparkling homes and new clothes. They visit friends and neighbors and share meals and hold parties. Communities come together to celebrate the beginning of spring and do so in the hope that they will always be surrounded by a healthy and clean environment, such as their home.

And the celebrations do not end when people ring in the new year. Thirteen days after Nowruz, families go outside and throw the wheatgrass they have grown (and used to decorate Haft Sin tables) into flowing waters.

The tradition is maintained on the 13th day after the new year, a number that is usually considered unfortunate. To ensure happiness for the year, communities throw out the wheatgrass, which reportedly absorbs all the negative energy from every home.

Do they really jump over fires?

Yes! The activity is one of two important traditions that mark the last few days of the old year.

Before spring rolls in, children run through the streets and slam hard on pots and knock on doors, asking for sweets or money. It’s like Halloween.

On the last Wednesday of the year, Chaharshanbe Soori (or, “Red Wednesday”) crowds in public places and jumps over bonfires, singing traditional songs and repeating the phrase: “Give me your beautiful red color and take back my sick pallor!”

Iranian families light fire outside their homes in Tehran on March 13, 2018 during Chaharshanbe Soori.

Iranian families light fire outside their homes in Tehran on March 13, 2018 during Chaharshanbe Soori.

ATTA KENARE / AFP / Getty Images

The fire serves as a symbol of light and good, while families want relief and happiness for the new year, says the Iran Chamber Society.
Nowruz also traces its origins back to the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, in which fire was a central focus. According to the Heritage Institute, light and fire in religion were ‘essential elements to sustain life’.

Understood it: tables, fires, parties. Anything else?

Iranians also have their version of Santa Claus – Amoo Nowruz, or Uncle Nowruz – and a small, cheerful clown who works for him.

Haji Firooz, the second figure, appears during the Persian New Year to bring good wishes. He is depicted with black face.

The character, also known as Haji Firuz, is an African slave serving an Iranian master, a reference to the long history of Iran’s slavery, writes Beeta Baghoolizadeh, with the Ajam Media Collective.

“The nonsensical rhyme and the direct reference to his status as a slave confirm his role as a raid in Iranian society – a role that, despite the end of slavery in Iran, continues in Norooz celebrations today,” says Baghoolizadeh. “Haji Firuz is actually from the Afro-Iranian community in southern Iran.”

And the food?

While fires jump and beat sound enticing, nothing can compare to the dishes brought during the Iranian New Year. The Persian cuisine, already known for its variety of grilled meats and fluffy rice, leaves the old year behind with feasts of stews, spicy foods and colorful cookies and pastries.

Herbs are key. Fish, meat, rice, noodles and beans in different dishes are peppered with fresh mint, tarragon, basil and other green herbs.

Nowruz’s main course is Sabzi Polo Mahi: fried fish alongside rice stuffed with green herbs. Another, Dolmeh Barg, contains cooked meat and rice stuffed into grape leaves. And Fesenjan, one of Iran’s most famous stews, offers meat, usually chicken and sometimes duck, in pomegranate and walnut sauce.

The list goes on and on. The most important thing about Nowruz’s food is that it is shared by family, friends and neighbors.

Am I ready?

Yes! And when the final countdown begins, play this song, which traditionally plays while communities engage in the new year.

Eide shoma mobarak!

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