Persian New Year celebrations underway

The Persian New Year will begin on March 20, 2012, at 8:44:27 AM local time in Iran.

People celebrate Nowruz (new day) in Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Black Sea and many other parts of the world.

Nowruz which coincides with the astronomical Vernal Equinox Day or the first day of spring is as one of the oldest and most cherished festivities celebrated for at least 3,000 years.

For Iranians, Nowruz is a celebration of renewal and change, a time to visit relatives and friends, and pay respect to senior family members. They prepare to welcome the New Year days before by spring cleaning and buying new clothes.

During Nowruz, Iranians set the Haft Seen as an expression of their traditional, spiritual, and social values.

Haft Seen is a table containing seven items starting with the phonemic Farsi equivalent of the English letter ‘S’ or ‘Seen.’ Sabzeh (freshly grown greens), Samanu (sweet wheat paste), Senjed (jujube), Seeb (apple), Seer (garlic), Somagh (sumac), and Sekeh (coin), are among items that begin with the Farsi letter Seen.

The items are believed to bring health, love, beauty and fertility in the coming year.

Iranians believe an individual’s conduct in Nowruz will affect their lives throughout the year; therefore, they abstain from fights and disagreements to ensure a good year.

The International Day of Nowruz was registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on February 23, 2010, and the festivities are now celebrated in many countries as far as the US and Canada.

The United Nations also promotes Nowruz by holding celebrations and introducing the tradition as a representation of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness among peoples and different communities.

FGP/TE

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