M A R C H P E R S I A N 2 0 T H N E W Y E A R 2 0 2 1 NOWROUZ

We wish you a year filled with health and happiness pronounced [nowˈɾuːz]; lit. 'new day') is the Iranian , ﻧﻮروز :Nowruz (Persian New Year,also known as the Persian New Year,which is celebrated worldwide by various ethnolinguistic groups usually on or around March 21 on the Gregorian calendar. Nowruz has Iranian and Zoroastrian origins; however, it has been celebrated by diverse communities for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia. It is a secular holiday for most celebrants that is enjoyed by people of several different faiths but remains a holy day for Zoroastrians,Baháʼís,and some Muslim communities. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendars. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families gather together to observe the rituals.

In these same weeks leading up to the actual day, families also set aside space for a “haft-seen,” or a collection of items that symbolize a different hope for the new year. While some families add their own variations to the haft-seen, there are seven things that are always included(see in the picture above):

Sabzeh: Some kind of sprout or grass that will continue to grow in the weeks leading up to the holiday, for rebirth and renewal Senjed: Dried fruit, ideally a sweet fruit from a lotus tree, for love Sib: Apples, for beauty and health Seer: Garlic, for medicine and taking care of oneself Samanu: A sweet pudding, for wealth and fertility Serkeh: Vinegar, for the patience and wisdom that comes with aging Sumac: A Persian spice made from crushed sour red berries, for the sunrise of a new day