Press TV
March 20, 2018
Nowruz (New Day), the name of the Iranian New Year, is a traditional festival that marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
A 3,000-year-old Iranian tradition for people of all faiths, Nowruz is celebrated by the world’s Persian-speaking community and other ethno-linguistic groups across Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans and even parts of Europe.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, India, Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kosovo are some of the countries, where the tradition is observed.
In countries, where Persian is the mother tongue, like in Tajikistan, the occasion is honored as a public holiday.
International recognition
The occasion, marking the vernal equinox, falls in March every year.
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the International Day of Nowruz, describing it as a spring festival of Iranian origin, which has been celebrated for more than three millennia.
Nowruz was officially registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
History
It is one of the world’s most long-established celebrations, running back more than 30 centuries. It has its roots in ancient Persia, and is thus still celebrated mostly across the Persian Plateau, especially Iran, which holds the largest concentration of the world’s Persians.
Some credit Babylonians with establishing Nowruz, while others hold that Zarathustra was the one who pioneered the jubilations.
Nowruz is extensively addressed across the Persian literature. For instance, peerless Persian poet and author of Shahnameh (Book of Kings), Ferdowsi, chronicles its creation with an allegorical incident, when mythological King Jamshid sat on his throne and waited until sun rays struck his crown before announcing Nowruz.
Cyrus the Great, who founded the first Persian Empire, called the celebration a national holiday, and ordered that domestic spaces and public places be tidied up as a means of paying tribute to the spring.
Darius I, the fourth monarch of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus, would celebrate Nowruz in Persepolis.
Once defeating the Roman Empire, Ardeshir I, the founder of Persia’s Sassanid Empire, ordered for Nowruz to be celebrated. Within the Roman Empire, Nowruz became known as Lupercal.
Upon embracing Islam, Persia would still celebrate Nowruz. The religion, especially the Shia faith, regards it as an auspicious occasion.
Modern-day Iranian tradition
In the weeks running up to Nowruz, most Iranians do spring-cleaning in harmony with the rebirth of the nature.
Traveling through the cities at the time, one is more than likely to see people washing the windows of their houses or hanging up their washed-up carpets on rooftops.
Also preceding the holidays is New Year shopping. Families go about buying fruit, pastry, and dried nuts to serve holiday-time guests with, and also purchase new clothing items.
They spread out the proverbial Haft-Seen table, an arrangement of seven items alliteratively beginning with the letter “Seen” in the Persian Alphabet, which sounds similar to “S.”
These symbolic items represent health, prosperity, longevity, reproduction and happiness for the family members throughout the year.
Iranian Haft Seen also includes Quran, Islam’s holy book.
A fishbowl containing red goldfish is also usually added to the arrangement.
On the last Thursday of the Iranian year, people also visit the graves of their loved ones. They usually take flowers to the cemetery, wash the gravestones and pray for the departed.
In Iran, the arrival of the New Year is announced by the firing of cannonballs.
A fortnight-long holiday span follows the inauguration of the New Year, when all schools and universities are closed for its entire length and public servants usually take a week off.
On the first day, family members typically gather around the Haft Seen table, awaiting the exact moment of the spring’s arrival based on the solar calendar.
After the turn of the year, they begin exchanging gifts and money to congratulate each other.
Iranians dedicate the first few days of the year to visiting parents and elders. They also pay short house visits to other family members, friends and neighbors.
The holidays culminate in Sizdah Bedar, the 13th day of the New Year, a day of family outings.
People take to parks and other green spaces countrywide, usually eat al fresco, and dispose of the Haft Seen’s Sabzeh, a patch of grown sprouts kept as an item on the Haft-Seen.
Related
A BIG
CORRECTION:
•••
••
•
It was actually a Mesopotamian celebration which was passed down to its sub-cultures; such as in Susa sheer the supposedly Persian culture originated.
It was a big events for the early farming folks of Mesopotamia, who used to make s living along the settlements that were scattered near banks of g
of the “DIJLA and FARHAD” river valleys and their surroundings.
There is no point in distortion of ancient HISTORICAL FACTS
*The Arabs, the Romans and others were always referring to Iran as “PARS” or SIMPLY “FARS”. as their immediate eastern neighbors.
FARS is much more appropriate name for Easter Iran- historical facts would easily back it up- the name change by Rezah Shah was politically motivated with strong back up from Anglo/US, as well as Russian agents- the encouragements maybe had been mainly due to expansionist policies of the English and RUSSIANS in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Those three countries had major influence over the political, economical and social sectors of Iran at that time and, in fact, before then for a long time; directly and indirectly.
========•••
==========
.•
On the other hand, Iran’s current name is much more appropriate for Western Iran and Easter Afghanistan where the Avestan culture and languages originated and had major impacts – ironically, the closest modern living language to ancient Avastan languages is “Pashto” which stayed rather not much affected, on the other hand, Farsi language has had been reformed and refurbished many times over after Muslim take overs of modern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Farsi was heavily influenced by Arabic on its initial contact with the Arab culture and then after the Muslim take overs of northern India and Central Asia, it kept actively interacting with Turkish ( an Altai family language) and northern Indian languages, as it spread out and expanded farther out east.
In the process the new heavily Arabized Farsi, later in its long journeys, kept embracing the local languages on it path towards Central Asia and Northern India- the local languages that may had roots and links to earliest lost and/or extinct languages that certainly existed many thousands of years earlier.
Apologize,; for the rash typing and grammatical errors !
Who is the PERSIAN ?????
===================•=
According to the above statements; the crazy Englishman bestowed the title of “PERSIAN” upon the Farsi speakers of Iran- all of them, regardless to their genetic make-up and and the part of the country that they originated from. If you speak Iranian Farsi, then you are a Persian; according to Englishman’ designation.
Any way; that labeling is not appropriate- because it applies only to the Western parts of Iran and plus the population of Iran is so fiversed from the admixtures of invaders and internal ethnic mixture that it would hardly resemble the ancient inhabitants- except for the Jews of Iran who kept using the original Farsi language; albeit with Accomadations, and mostly clinged on to their own kind- incidentally, I happen to know some Iranian Jews who proudly call themselves “the PERSIANS” as well.
They may have a point, after all- they are one of the oldest residents of Iran- and
love the Englishman and his unwavering support for; the so-called prestigious, title.
HERE ARE THE CORRECTION:
*
*
The majority of the people in Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan speak this elegant language of FARSI !
FARSI (PERSIAN) as a common language, it links us all together.
••••••
•••••••
It is a great civilized language that we are all proud of it- a God-given gift to all humanity.
THE FARSI LANGUAGE REFINED TO ITS BEST,
MOSTLY IN AND AROUND THE LANDS THAT WE CALL AFGHSNISTAN TODAY.
*****
****
***
**
*
HERE IT IS:
JUST, TO CLARIFY IT ONCE MORE FOR THE BENIFITS OF ALL:
=====================
*
The Great language was called Farsi by the ARABS after the Muslim took over Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.
.
.
And then Farsi language mostly kept getting refined to its best during “Islamic Renaissance Period” in and around today’s Afghanistan- THE GREAT PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN REFINED IT ALL.
.
NOW, THE HISTORIC FACTS CAN EASILY ELABORATE AND VERIFY ON ABOVE FACTS-
JUST TAKE A LITTLE BIT OFFYOUR TIME FROM YOU BUSY SCHEDULE TO FLIP THROUGH-
NOW; GO ON
AND CLEARLY VERIFY IT ALL; WHAT I HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU ALL ALONG, PERIOD.
Incidentally, Farsi and Pashto were both labeled by the Mesopotamians Iraqis; albeit, on different time frames- the expansions on both stages are historically evident; all the way to Chinese and Indian borders.
.
Ancient Iran used to be called Pars; I am sure Pashto and Pashtoons words are, somehow, linked or associated with it.
.
The main reason is that both names got roots into Medopotamian ancient civilization; and, in fact, most of the original settlers for the last ten thousands of years, most likely, may migrated from there- in light of close cultural and genetic ties.
.
Anyway; the pride goes for all humanity- we are all mature enough not to down grade any of our God-created kins across the world- we all have something great to share and celebrate with the world.