Nowruz is the Persian New Year, which translates to “new day.”
The Celebration begins the first day of spring during the spring equinox, which takes place from March 20-21.
This year Delta’s College student empowerment cultural and equity committee hosted an event for Nowruz on Monday, March 23 in the Dawn Mabalon Forum Monday.
This celebration generally includes gatherings with family and friends, food, dancing, singing and poems.
The campus celebration included a guest speaker. Adjunct Professor Tannaz Tabatabaei, was the speaker for the event.
The event was a presentation about how Nowruz Persian New Year is celebrated.
Nowruz is celebrated for 13 days.
“We start the celebration with hugging and congratulating each other no matter the time. We send beautiful postcards to each other and the card includes omen and poems. For me the celebration started during work time,” said Tabatabaei.
Nowruz is celebrated in Iran and some parts of central Asia. The earliest origins of this celebration lie in Zoroastrianism that originated in ancient (Persian modern day-Iran) for almost 3,500 years.
Before Nowruz occurs some people start to deep clean the entire house to receive guests and also fresh start.
“I don’t think people realize how Nowruz is a big celebration back home in Iran. Schools, stores and jobs are closed during Nowruz. Nowruz is as big as a Christmas celebration, that is why I think it’s so important for people to know how and why we celebrate it,” said Tabatabaei.
The first day of the celebration of Nowruz takes place inside home as people are prepared to receive guests with sweets and fruits. Those who celebrate go around and visit family members and friends.
They also set up a Haftseen table. The table includes seven items since seven is considered a lucky number. The items all start with the letter s in Persian and they symbolize spring and renewal.
This items are like:
1.Sabzeh (sprouts) which represents rebirth.
2. Samanu (sweet pudding) represents fertility.
3. Serkeh (vinegar) represents patience.
4. Seeb (apple) represents beauty.
5. Seer (garlic) represents good health.
6.Sekeh (coins) represents prosperity.
7.Sonbol (hyacinth) represents spring.
A tradition that can’t be missed is a gold fish which symbolizes “movement of life.” They also eat fish which is a symbol of wellness, prosperity and health, according to Tabatabaei some families give children paper money and if they keep it that will bring them good luck in their life.
Another thing they do for the festival is last Wednesday they jump over a fire and repeat affirmations like “may sickness and negative burn this fire.” It is also considered a sacred symbol. This activity takes place on the last day of wednesday during the 13 days celebration.
Tabatabaei said it has been harder to do some of these things than back in Iran.
“I think last Wednesday , jumping on fire is one of the things us Iranis in the U.S can’t do much, over there it’s such a big celebration that everywhere is closed and still do it, however, today some places in Iran are also prohibited to jump on fire. Also due to work I try to celebrate those 13 days but it can get complicated but it is a tradition I am passing on to my son,” said Tabatabaei.