The Persian New Year

Norouz is one of the ancient and national celebrations of Persia that was initiated during the period of Jamishid Shah. The Iranian new year starts on the first day of spring. The tradition of this celebration is only for the enjoyment and originality including Chahar Shanbe Souri that occurs at the dusk of the last Tuesday of the old year. It is celebrated by making bonfires and jumping over the fire while chanting. This is mainly originated because of the importance of fire in the Zoroastrian religion, which is the first religion Iranians adopted. Spring cleaning is also important since everything needs to be cleaned in the house and if there are old and non-functional appliances they should be replaced with newer ones. The Haft Seen table consists of 7 items that are plants or products of plants and all start with an S in the Persian language such as grown wheat or grown lentil, apples, Senjed fruit, Hyacinth, Samanou (a sweet pudding made of germinated wheat), Sumac and garlic. In this day, which is the first day of the solar year everyone wears new clothing and the elders give gifts to children. In get togethers, fruits, pastries and tea are served. On the thirteenth day of “Farvardin”, the first month of the year, families spend the day outdoors and play games, sing and dance. This day coincides with April 1st and ironically Iranians, too, play practical jokes on each other on that day.