Sharing our Celebrations

Iran

Hello dear friends,

 

To share our celebrations, each group  students have tried to provide some information about the festival of "Neo-Rooz" (Persian New Year Celebrations) its customs and traditions. I hope you will like their work.

Neo-Rooz"

 

The greatest Persian festival "Neo-Rooz" celebrates the coming of spring by Iranian. "Noe" means "new" and "Rooz" means "day", therefore, Noe-Rooz means New Day. Noe-Rooz occurs exactly when the length of night and day are equal, which is the beginning of spring. Noe-Rooz doesn’t falls on the same day each year but moves between March 19th and 22nd in the Christian calendar.
To the Iranians, Noe-Rooz is much more than just a New Year's celebration, and throughout the centuries its spirit has helped them through hardship and strife during war and foreign occupation.
Noe-Rooz is a huge family celebration, and Iranians return to their hometowns to celebrate the New

Year with their relatives and friends

Bye,
Mehrnoush & Khatere

The Origin of Noe-Rooz

Legend has it that long, long ago, a mighty and glorious King named Jamshid ruled over Persia. Jamshid taught his people the arts of weaving, mining, building, and making arms. He then defeated the hideous demon hosts. Once defeated, the demons were reduced to slaves for the benefit of mankind. Jamshid ordered the demons to build him a special carriage. Once the carriage was ready, to the amazement and joy of all the people, the monsters lifted it into the air and Jamshid rode the carriage from Demavand to Babylon. This special day was called Noe-Rooz (the New Day), and has since been made in to an annual celebration.

Haleh, Mahsa & Maryam

Haji Firooz

Wearing black make up and a red dress, Haji Firooz sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets informing people that spring has come and that winter has gone. In return, people give him gifts or money for the good news that he brings.

Bye,

Maryam & Zahra

Chahar Shanbeh Suri: (Iranians' Festival Of The Last Wednesday)

On the eve of last Wednesday of the year, literally the eve of Red Wednesday or the eve of celebration, bonfires are lit in public places and people jump over the flames, shouting:

Give me your beautiful red color
And take back my sickly pallor!

After jumping over the fire, children usually go door to door in their neighborhood “ghashogh zani”, banging on pots with spoons. Kids cover themselves so they cannot be known, knock on the doors and get treats.

Bye,

PASARGAD

The Renewal

 

In parallel with the rebirth of nature, extensive spring-cleaning is a national tradition seen in almost every household in Iran. This is also customary that each person to buy at least one set of new clothes. On the New Year's day, families dress in their new clothes and start the twelve-day celebrations by visiting the elders of their family, then the rest of their family and finally their friends. On the thirteenth day families leave their homes and picnic outdoors.

Mahsa, Arezoo, Azin, Farzaneh & Leila

Haft Seen(Seven S's")

A few days prior to the New Year, a special cover is spread on to the Persian carpet or on a table in every Persian household. This ceremonial table is called cloth of seven dishes, each one beginning with the Persian letter Sinn (in English S). The number seven has been sacred in Iran since the ancient times, and the seven dishes stand for the seven angelic heralds of life-rebirth, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty.

It is customary for the family to gather round the Haft Seen spread a few hours before the New Year and recite verses from the Holy Koran and poems from Hafez . At the exact moment of the New Year, the oldest person in the family continues the traditions by hugging and wishing each member well and offering sweets, pastries, and coins.

The symbolic dishes consist of:

·  Sabzeh or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil representing rebirth.

·  Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding and represents the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking.

·  Seeb means apple and represents health and beauty.

·  Senjed the sweet, dry fruit of the Lotus tree, represents love. It has been said that when lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else.

·  Seer which is garlic in Persian, represents medicine.

·  Serkeh or vinegar, represents age and patience

·  Somaq sumac berries, represent the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil.

·  Sonbol - the hyacinth flower with its strong fragrance heralding the coming of spring, and

·  Sekkeh - coins representing prosperity and wealth.

Other elements and symbols are also on the Seen spread :

·   a basket of painted eggs represents fertility.

·   a Seville orange floating in a bowl of water represents the earth floating in space.

·   a goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of astral year-picas.

·   A mirror which represents the images and reflections of Creation as we celebrate anew the ancient Persian traditions and beliefs that creation took place on the first day of spring.

·   On either side of the mirror are two candlesticks holding a flickering candle for each child in the family. The candles represent enlightenment and happiness.

Bye,

Mahan, Zakieh,  Moniba & Ziba

New Year's Dishes

There is also special meal that is prepared for the first day of New Year. The main part of meal includes special rice made with herbs called sabzi polo, special fish, and kuku sabzi, a quiche made with herbs.

Samira, Zohreh, & Sara

Sizdeh bedar

Noe-Rooz lasts twelve days and the thirteenth day Sizdeh bedar, people go to picnic (It is considered unlucky to stay indoors on 13th day). They throw the Sabzeh (wheat or lentil seeds you grew for haft-sin table) in running water, to remove the bad luck from their home of the previous year. It is common to eat a special noodle soup for Sizdeh bedar.

Love & Peace

4S4S