Nowruz celebrations, marking the beginning of the Persian New Year, will begin on Monday at exactly 6:28:40 am (Montreal). Nothing random about the timing here — it is the exact moment of the Vernal Equinox, marking the beginning of spring.
The occasion will mark year 1396 in the Iranian calendar, however, it is also an event that is celebrated by Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, some Iraqis and other countries influenced by ancient Persia.
Nowruz is traditionally a time spent with family and is traditionally celebrated by the gathering of the immediate family around the Haft Seen, a decorated spread, for the exact moment of the New Year followed by an exchange of presents.
It is customary for the family to gather at the home of the family’s elder for a sumptuous lunch or dinner which has to include Sabzi Polo Mahi (herbed rice with fish). The next 13 days after Nowruz are a time to visit family and friends’ at their homes, also known as Eid Deedani, literally meaning seeing Eid. Eid Deedani is a particularly happy occasion for children, who get to pocket brand new currency kept for them inside the Quran by the house owner as gifts.
The Haft Seen, is the official Nowruz decoration that each house will prepare in their own style on a table and will include at least seven items that in Farsi begin with the letter ‘seen’ or s, with every single item symbolising something. These include serke (vinegar), seeb (apple), senjed (dry fruit from lotus tree), sabzeh (sprouts), seer (garlic), somaq (sumac fruit), samanu (a sweet pudding). Additional items that begin with the letter s that are commonly seen on the table as part of the sofreh (spread) include sekeh (coin) and sonbol (hyacinth).
History of Noruz
The name of Noruz does not occur until the second century AD in any Persian records. We have reasons to believe that the celebration is much older than that date and was surely celebrated by the people and royalty during the Achaemenid times (555-330 BC). It has often been suggested that the famous Persepolis Complex, or at least the palace of Apadana and Hundred Columns Hall, were built for the specific purpose of celebrating Noruz. However, no mention of the name of Noruz exists in any Achaemenid inscription.
Our oldest records of Noruz go back to the Arsacid/Parthian times (247 BC-224 AD). There are specific references to the celebration of Noruz during the reign of Arsacid Emperor Vologases I (51-78 AD). Unfortunately, the lack of any substantial records about the reign of the Arsacids leaves us with little to explore about the details of Noruz during their times.
After the accession of Ardashir I Pabakan, the founder of the Sasanian Dynasty (224 AD), consistent data for the celebration of Noruz were recorded.
Throughout the Sasanian era (224-650 AD), Noruz was celebrated as the most prominent ritual during the year. Most royal traditions of Noruz such as yearly common audiences, cash gifts, and pardon of prisoners, were established during the Sasanian era and they persisted unchanged until the modern times.
Nowruz, along with Sadeh that is celebrated in mid-winter, were the two pre-Islamic celebrations that survived in the Islamic society after 650 AD.
Other celebrations such Gahanbar and Mehragan were eventually side-lined or were only followed by the Zoroastrians who carried them as far as India. Noruz, however, was most honoured even by the early founders of Islam.
There are records of the Four Great Caliphs presiding over Noruz celebrations, and during the Abbasid era, it was adopted as the main royal holiday.
Following the demise of the Caliphate and re-emergence of Persian dynasties such as the Samanids and Buyids, Noruz was elevated into an even more important event. The Buyids revived the ancient traditions of Sasanian times and restored many smaller celebrations that had been eliminated by the Caliphate. Even the Turkish and Mongol invaders of Iran did not attempt to abolish Noruz in favor of any other celebration. Thus, Noruz remained as the main celebration in the Persian lands by both the officials and the people.
International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.