Iran Events
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The festival
of Noe-Rooz
 "Noe-Rooz"
celebrates the coming of spring
by nations of Aryan heritage or
Iranians. (When referring to
Iranian nations, we include
nations that have a common
foundation, history and
language.)
In the Persian
language "Noe" means "new", and
"Rooz" means "day". Hence, "Noe-Rooz"
means "new day".
Noe-Rooz
occurs at the exact time of the
Vernal (spring) Equinox, when
the length of night and day are
equal. Translated literally,
Equinox means "Equal Night".
Because the sun is positioned
above the equator, day and night
are about equal in length all
over the world during the
equinoxes.
A true Earth year
is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes
and 64 seconds, which the time
is taken for the Earth to
complete one orbit around the
sun.
Every fourth year an
extra day is added to the
calendar (called a Leap Year),
to adjust for this extra 1/4 of
a rotation each year. This
correction was introduced at the
time of Julius Caesar (46 B.C.)
and allows the calendar to
always measure the location of
the Earth in its orbit about the
sun accurately. Thus, the Spring
Equinox can fall on different
days (either March 20th or
21st).
People around the
world have recognized the vernal
equinox for thousands of years.
There is no shortage of rituals
and traditions surrounding the
coming of spring. Many early
peoples celebrated at this time,
for the basic reason that their
food supplies would soon be
restored. The date is
significant in Christianity
because Easter always falls on
the first Sunday after the first
full moon after the Vernal
Equinox. It is probably no
coincidence that early Egyptians
built the Great Sphinx so that
it points directly toward the
rising of the Sun on the day of
the Vernal Equinox. The ancient
Iranians celebrated two seasons.
One was "Zayana" or winter, (the
festival of Mehr'gaun) and the
other "Hama", summer, celebrated
by the festival of Noe-Rooz to
announce its coming.
The new
year’s ceremonies and tradition.Haji FiroozThe traditional
herald of the Noe-Rooz season is
called Haji Firooz. He
symbolizes the rebirth of the
Sumerian god of sacrifice,
Domuzi, who was killed at the
end of each year and reborn at
the beginning of the New Year.
Wearing black make up and a red
costume, Haji Firooz sings and
dances through the streets with
tambourines and trumpets
spreading good cheer and the
news of the coming New Year.
Chahar Shanbeh SooriOne of
the symbolic rituals of the
Noe-Rooz celebrations occurs on
the eve of the last Wednesday of
the year (Chahar Shanbeh Soori,
literally meaning "the eve of
Red Wednesday" or "the eve of
celebration"). On this magical
night, families gather piles of
brush or wood and bonfires are
lit in public places. They then
leap over the flames shouting:
"Sorkhi-e to az man,
zardi-e man
az to!"
"Give me your vibrant
red hue, and take back my sickly
yellow pallor!"
The essence
of this tradition is giving
thanks for the previous year's
health and happiness, while
exchanging any remaining
paleness and evil with the
warmth and vibrancy of the fire.
According to tradition, the
livings are visited by the
spirit of their ancestors on the
last days of the year, and many
children wrap themselves in
shrouds, symbolically
re-enacting the visits. They
also run through the streets
banging on pots and pans with
spoons and knocking on doors to
ask for treats. The ritual is
called qashogh-zany (spoon
beating) and symbolizes the
beating out of the last unlucky
Wednesday of the year. This
could be seen as the Iranian
version of the Western Halloween
night.
There
are also several other
traditions on this night
including:
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The ritual of Koozeh Shekastan
- the breaking of earthen jars
which symbolically hold ones bad
fortune. |
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The ritual of Fal-Goosh -
interpreting ones fortune by
secretly listening to
conversations of passersby. |
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The ritual of Gereh-gosha-ee -
making a knot in the corner of a
handkerchief or garment and
asking the first passerby to
unravel it in order to remove
ones misfortune. |
The Spirit of RenewalIn parallel with the rebirth of
nature, extensive
spring-cleaning is a national
tradition observed in almost
every household in Iran. This is
also extended to every persons
attire, and it is customary 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.Haft SeenThe Zoroastrians of ancient
Persia celebrated the creation
of life by offering their god,
Ahura Mazda, seven trays filled
with symbolic objects
representing truth, justice,
good thoughts, good deeds,
virtue, prosperity, generosity
and immortality.
Today, the tradition is
continued through the setting of
the table or spread with an
arrangement of several items of
which seven of them start with
the Persian letter Seen (in
English S). The Persian
translation for the number seven
is "Haft", hence, "Haft Seen"
means "Seven S's". It is
customary for the family to
gather round the Haft Seen
spread a few hours before the
New Year and recite poems from
Hafez and verses from the Holy
Koran. 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. Banknotes are sometimes
placed between the pages of the
Holy Koran to bless them before
they are given to the younger
members of the family.
The contemporary Haft Seen
spread includes seven of the
following items:
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Sabzeh - wheat or lentils
grown in a tray or dish prior to
Noe-Rooz to represent rebirth |
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Samanu
- a sweet pudding
made from wheat
germ, symbolizing
affluence |
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Senjed
- the dried fruit of
the lotus tree which
represents love |
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Seer - which means
garlic in Persian,
and represents
medicine |
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Seeb
- which means apple
in Persian, and
represents beauty
and health |
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Somaq - sumac berries, which
represent the colour of the sun
rise |
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Serkeh
- which means
vinegar in Persian,
and represents age
and patience |
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Sonbol
- the hyacinth
flower with its
strong fragrance
heralding the coming
of spring |
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Sekkeh - coins representing
prosperity and wealth. |
The other items in the spread
include:
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Shirini - Sugar
cookies and pastries |
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Candles -
representing
enlightenment and
happiness |
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Mirror -
representing the
reflections of
creation on the
first day of spring |
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Painted eggs -
representing
fertility |
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A bowl with
goldfish -
representing life
and the end of the
Zodiac sign of
Pisces |
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An orange in a
bowl of water -
representing the
earth floating in
space |
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Rosewater -
thought to have
magical cleansing
powers |
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A copy of the Holy Koran and
Divan-e Hafez |
Growing Sabzeh for New Year Growing Sabzeh,
green shoots (sprouts), are a
major part of getting ready for
Noe-Rooz. It is a must to have
it on Haft sin spread and though
growing it sounds easy it needs
experience. The process normally
starts 3 to 4 weeks before
Noe-Rooz depending on how tall
you want your Sabzeh. Special
lentils (Adass) and or
whole-wheat seeds are sold at
Iranian stores and you should
use these special ones,
otherwise they won't work. Soak
the seeds in water for two days
and then put them on a shallow
plate and cover it with a paper
towel and place in a sunny
location. Squirt water over the
shoots several times a day, and
again cover with the paper
towel. They should not be either
dry or soaked, just enough water
to allow them sprouting. Once
the sprouts appear remove the
paper towel and let it grow.
Women in the family normally
grow Sabzeh and several are made
at the same time just in the
case if they rot and go moldy
which they often do. Some ladies
have a reputation for having
green hands and growing great
Sabzeh. They might be asked to
grow some for friends and
relatives. All Iranian stores
sell the already grown ones and
many people will simply buy
them.New Year's Dishes
Sabzi Polo MahiThe New
Year's Day traditional meal is
called Sabzi Polo Mahi, which is
rice with green herbs served
with fish. The traditional
seasonings for Sabzi Polo are
parsley, coriander, chives, dill
and fenugreek.
Reshteh Polo
Another traditional dish Reshteh
Polo, is rice cooked with
noodles which is said to
symbolically help one.
Seezdah Bedar
The thirteenth day celebrations,
Seezdah Bedar, stem from the
belief of the ancient Persians
that the twelve constellations
in the Zodiac controlled the
months of the year, and each
ruled the earth for a thousand
years. At the end of which, the
sky and the earth collapsed in
chaos. Hence, Noe-Rooz lasts
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 by going outdoors and
having picnics and parties.
At the end of the celebrations
on this day, the sabzeh grown
for the Haft Seen spread (which
has symbolically collected all
the sickness and bad luck) is
thrown away into running water
to exorcise the demons (divs)
and evil eyes from the house
hold. 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 Seezdah Bedar. When
tying the leaves, they
whisper...succeed in life. |
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