www.portsmouth.gov.uk1

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Nowruz Persian New Year

now (Old Persian nava) means "new“

ruz means "day"

EMA Portsmouth 2012

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Some of the countries that celebrate Nowruz

www.portsmouth.gov.uk4

When is Nowruz?

Nowruz is celebrated on the first day of the Spring. It usually occurs on March 21st (but sometimes the day before or

after(. The moment the Sun crosses the equator, when night and day are equal, Iranian families gather together to observe

the Nowruz rituals.

However, the Kurdish people always celebrate the new year on the 21st March every year.

www.portsmouth.gov.uk5

Nowruz has been celebrated for at

least 3,000 years.

It is deeply rooted in the rituals

and traditions of the Zoroastrian

religion.

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Chahārshanbe-Sūri (in Persian: چهارشنبه‌سوری‌ )

meaning Wednesday Feast also called the Festival of Fire

• Bonfires are lit in public places, hoping for enlightenment and happiness throughout the coming year.

• People leap over the flames, shouting: ‘Sorkhi-ye to az man; Zardi-ye man az to’ (Give me your beautiful red colour; and take back my sickly pallor)

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

• Another tradition of this day is to make special ajeel, (mixed nuts and berries).

• People wear disguises and go door to door knocking on doors as similar to Trick-or-treating.

7

www.portsmouth.gov.uk8

In the run up to Nowruz

Houses are spring cleaned and filled with flowers (in particular hyacinths tulips and

daffodils( This symbolises the rebirth of nature

It is also customary to buy at least one new outfit for the New Year celebrations

www.portsmouth.gov.uk9

On the first day of NowruzFamilies gather around a table to wait for the

exact moment of the arrival of the spring when they exchange gifts.

On the table will be the Haft Sîn which consists of seven specific items beginning with the letter ‘S’ :

• Sumaq – sumac berries – for the colour of sunrise

• Seer – garlic – for medicine • Sonbol – apples – for beauty and health • Serkeh – vinegar – for age and patience. • Samanoo – a sweet wheat germ pudding

– for affluence • Senjed – the dried fruit of the lotus tree –

for love • Sabzeh – grown wheat, barley or lentil

sprouts in a dish – for rebirth

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Other things that may be on the table include

• coins (for wealth), • candles (enlightenment and happiness), • a mirror (cleanness and honesty), • decorated eggs (fertility), • a goldfish in a bowl (said to represent unexpected

favours to be received in the coming year),

• rosewater (believed to have magical cleansing powers),

• and a holy book and/or a poetry book.

10

www.portsmouth.gov.uk11

• Nowruz lasts for twelve days and the thirteenth day represents the time of chaos when families put order aside and avoid the bad luck associated with the number thirteen.

• On the thirteenth day, families leave their homes and go for a picnic in the country side.

The thirteenth day of the New Year festival is called Sizdah Bedar (meaning ‘thirteen outdoors’).

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

The thirteenth day of the New Year festival is called Sizdah Bedar (meaning ‘thirteen outdoors’).• Some people believe that if a person is warm and kind to

their relatives, friends and neighbours on Nowruz, then the new year will be a good one. On the other hand, if there are fights and disagreements, the year will be a bad one

• One tradition associated with the 13th day is Dorugh-e Sizdah, (meaning “the lie of the thirteenth”) where people tell a fib to one another, similar to April Fools Day.

12

www.portsmouth.gov.uk13

Sabzeh

Sizdah Bedar often falls on or very close to April Fool's Day.

It is also customary for young single women to tie the leaves of the sabzeh, prior to discarding it, symbolizing their wish to be married before the next year's Sizdah Bedar

www.portsmouth.gov.uk14

Traditional New Year Food

Traditional Iranian pastries such as baghlava, toot, naan-nokhodchi are always available to visitors.

New Year dishes include:

Sabzi Polo Mahi

Baghlava Sabzi Polo Mahi

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

More Food

Dolme Barg

Kookoo sabzi

15

Kookoo sabzi

www.portsmouth.gov.uk

Some New Year greetings

Sale no mobarak is Happy New Year in Farsi

Nevruz kutlu olsun is Happy New Year in Turkish

Newroz piroz be is Welcome life in Kurdish

16

www.portsmouth.gov.uk17