Norouz
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| Norouz | |
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| Celebration of the coming of Spring and the Iranian new year
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| Also called | Eid-e Norouz. also spelled Norouz, Nauryz, Newroz, Noe-Rooz, Nawroz, Norooz, Noruz, Novruz, Noh Ruz, Nauroz, Nav-roze, Navroz, Naw-Rúz, Nevruz, Sultan Nevruz, or Nowrouz |
| Observed by | Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, India, Turkey, Zanzibar, and various countries of Central Asia, as well as among the Kurds. |
| Type | Historical |
| Significance | New year holiday |
| Date | March 20th, 21st or 22nd. |
| Celebrations | The Haftsin setting, Chahârshanbe Sûrî, Sizdah Bedar, etc. |
Norouz (Persian: نوروز , Kurdish: Newroz, NûRoj, IPA2: Nowruz; also spelled Nauryz, Noe-Rooz, Nawroz, Norooz, Noruz, Novruz, Noh Ruz, Nauroz, Nav-roze, Navroz, Naw-Rúz, Nevruz or Nowrouz) is the traditional Iranian new year holiday in Iran, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Zanzibar, Albania, various countries of Central Asia like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, Xinjiang as well as among the Kurds [1]. As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of Sufism as well as Bahá'í Faith [2]. It is also referred to as Eid.
Norouz marks first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year as well as the beginning of the Bahá'í year [3]. It is celebrated by some communities on March 21st and by others on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (start of spring), which may occur on March 20th, 21st or 22nd.
The word comes from the Old Persian [4]: nava=new + rəzaŋh=day/daylight, meaning "new day/daylight", and still has the same meaning in the modern Persian (no=new + rouz=day; meaning "new day").
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[edit] History
The term Norouz first appeared in Persian records in the second century CE, but it was also an important day during the Achaemenid times (c. 648-330 BCE), where kings from different nations under Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor (Shahanshah) of Persia on Norouz [5]. It has been suggested that the famous Persepolis complex, or at least the palace of Apadana and the "Hundred Columns Hall", were built for the specific purpose of celebrating Norouz. However, no mention of Norouz exists in Achaemenid inscriptions (See picture).
The oldest records of Norouz go back to the King Yima of Eastern Iran Afghanistan back far as 5000 BCE. And later it became the national holiday of Arsacid/Parthian Empires Who ruled western Iran (247 BCE-224 CE). There are specific references to the celebration of Norouz during the reign Vologases I (51-78 CE), but these include no details.
Extensive records on the celebration of Norouz appear following the accession of Ardashir I of Persia, the founder of the Sassanid dynasty (224-650 CE). Under the Sassanid kings, Norouz was celebrated as the most important day of the year. Most royal traditions of Norouz such as royal audiences with the public, cash gifts, and the pardoning of prisoners, were established during the Sassanian era and they persisted unchanged until modern times.
Norouz, along with Sadeh (that is celebrated in mid-winter), survived in society following the introduction of Islam in 650 CE. Other celebrations such Gahanbar and Mehragan were eventually side-lined or were only followed by the Zoroastrians, who carried them as far as India. Norouz, however, was most honored even by the early founders of Islam. There are records of the Four Great Caliphs presiding over Nowruz celebrations, and it was adopted as the main royal holiday during the Abbasid period.
Following the demise of the Caliphate and the subsequent re-emergence of Persian dynasties such as the Samanids and Buyids, Norouz was elevated to an even more important event. The Buyids revived the ancient traditions of Sasanian times and restored many smaller celebrations that had been eliminated by the Caliphate. Even the Turkish and Mongol invaders did not attempt to abolish Norouz in favor of any other celebration. Thus, Norouz remained as the main celebration in the Persian lands by both the officials and the people.
Omar Khayyam in his Norouznama has written a vivid description of the celebration in ancient Persian.
| From the era of Keykhosrow till the days of Yazdegard, last of the
pre-Islamic kings of Persia, the royal custom was thus: on the first day of the New Year, Nau Ruz, the King's first visitor was the High Priest of the Zoroastrians, who brought with him as gifts a golden goblet full of wine, a ring, some gold coins, a fistful of green sprigs of wheat, a sword, a bow and a handsome slave. In the language of Persia he would then glorify God and praise the monarch.. This was the address of the High Priest to the king : "O Majesty, on this feast of the Equinox, first day of the first month of the year, seeing that thou hast freely chosen God and the Faith of the Ancient ones; may Surush, the Angel-messenger, grant thee wisdom and insight and sagacity in thy affairs. Live long in praise, be happy and fortunate upon thy golden throne, drink immortality from the Cup of Jamshid; and keep in solemn trust the customs of our ancestors, their noble aspirations, fair gestes and the exercise of justice and righteousness. May thy soul flourish; may thy youth be as the new-grown grain; may thy horse be puissant, victorious; they sword bright and deadly against foes; thy hawk swift against its prey; thy every act straight as the arrow's shaft. Go forth from thy rich throne, conquer new lands. Honor the craftsman and the sage in equal degree; disdain the acquisition of wealth. May thy house prosper and thy life be long!" |
[edit] Local variations
Nowruz has been celebrated for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of the Zoroastrian religion. Today, the festival of Norouz is celebrated in many countries that were territories of, or influenced by, the Persian Empire: Persia (Iran), Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of the middle-east, as well as in the former soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan,Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is also celebrated by the Zoroastrian Parsis and Iranis in India, and in Turkey, where it is called Nevruz in Turkish and Newroz in Kurdish.
In most countries, the greeting that accompanies the festival is Ayd-e Norouz Mobārak (mubarak: felicitations) in Persian. In Turkey, the greeting is either Bayramınız Mubarek/kutlu olsun (in Turkish) or Cejna te pîroz be (in Kurdish).
[edit] Norouz in modern Iran
In Iran (Persia), preparations for Noruz begin in Esfand, the last month of winter in the Persian solar calendar. Persians, Afghans and other groups start preparing for the Norouz with a major spring-cleaning of their houses, the purchase of new clothes to wear for the new year and the purchase of flowers (in particular the hyacinth and the tulip are popular and conspicuous).
In association with the "rebirth of nature", extensive spring-cleaning is a national tradition observed by almost every household in Persia. This is also extended to personal 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.
During the Nowruz holidays people are expected to visit one another (mostly limited to families, friends and neighbours) in the form of short house visits, which are usually reciprocated. Typically, on the first day of Nowruz, family members gather around the table, with the Haft Seen on the table or set next to it, and await the exact moment of the arrival of the spring. At that time gifts are exchanged. Later in the day, the first house visits are paid to the most senior family members. Typically, the youth will visit the elders first, and the elders return their visit later. The visits naturally have to be relatively short, otherwise one will not be able to visit everybody on their list. A typical visit is around 30 minutes, where you often run into other visiting relatives and friends who happen to be paying a visit to the same house at that time. Because of the house visits, you make sure you have a sufficient supply of pastry, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and special nuts on hand, as you typically serve your visitors with these items with tea or sherbet. Many Iranians will throw large Nowruz parties in a central location as a way of dealing with the long distances between groups of friends and family.
Some Norouz celebrants believe that whatever a person does on Norouz will affect the rest of the year. So, if a person is warm and kind to their relatives, friends and neighbors on Nowruz, then the new year will be a good one. On the other hand, if there are fights and disagreements, the year will be a bad one.
One tradition that may not be very widespread (that is, it may belong to only a few families) is to place something sweet, such as honey or candy, in a safe place outside overnight. On the first morning of the new year, the first person up brings the sweet stuff into the house as another means of attaining a good new year.
[edit] Chahârshanbe Sûrî
The last Wednesday of the year is celebrated by the Iranian people as Chahârshanbe Sûrî Persian: چهارشنبه سوری), the Iranian festival of fire. This festival is the celebration of the light (the good) winning over the darkness (the bad), the symbolism behind the rituals are all rooted back to Zoroastrianism.
The tradition includes people going into the streets and alleys to make fires, and jump over them while singing the traditional song Zardî-ye man az to, sorkhî-ye to az man (literally: "My yellowness for you, your redness for me; ", but figuratively: My paleness (pain, sickness) to you, your strength (health) to me.
Serving different kinds of pastry and nuts known as Ajîleh Moshkel Goshâ (lit. The problem-solving nuts) is the Chahârshanbe Sûrî way of giving thanks for the previous year's health and happiness, while exchanging any remaining paleness and evil for the warmth and vibrancy of the fire.
According to tradition, the living 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.
There are also several other traditions on this night, including the rituals of Kûzeh Shekastân, the breaking of earthen jars which symbolically hold ones bad fortune; the ritual of Fal-Gûsh, or inferring one's future from the conversations of those passing by; and the ritual of Gereh-goshâ’î, 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.
[edit] The Haft Sîn
A major tradition of Norouz is the setting of the Haft Sîn (هفت سین) - the seven 'S's, seven items starting with letter S or sîn (س) in Persian alphabet), which are seven specific items on a table symbolically corresponding to the seven creations and the seven holy immortals protecting them. Today they are changed and modified but some have kept their symbolism. Every family attempts to set as beautiful a Haft Sîn table as they can, as it is not only of special spiritual meaning to them, but also is noticed by visitors to their house during Norouzi visitations and is a reflection of their good taste.
The following list is an example of some common Haft Seen items, though there isn't consensus as to which seven:
- sabzeh - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish (symbolising rebirth)
- samanu - a sweet pudding made from wheat germ (symbolising affluence)
- senjed - the dried fruit of the oleaster tree (love)
- sîr - garlic (medicine)
- sîb - apples, (beauty and health)
- somaq - sumac berries (the colour of the sunrise)
- serkeh - vinegar (age and patience)
- sonbol - the fragrant hyacinth flower (the coming of spring)
- sekkeh - coins (prosperity and wealth)
Other items on the table may include:
- traditional Iranian pastries such as baghlava, toot, naan-nokhodchi
- dried nuts, berries and raisins (Aajeel)
- lit candles (enlightenment and happiness)
- a mirror
- painted eggs, perhaps one for each member of the family (fertility)
- a bowl with two goldfish (life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving)
- a bowl of water with an orange in it (the earth floating in space)
- rose water for its magical cleansing powers
- the national colours, for a patriotic touch
- a holy book (e.g., the Qur'an, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bible, Torah or the Avesta) or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnama or the Divan of Hafez)
[edit] Hâjji Fîrûz
The traditional herald of the Norouz season is called Hâjji Fîrûz (or Hadji Pîrûz). 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. He usually uses face paint to make his skin black and wears a red costume. Then he sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading good cheer and heralds the coming of the New Year.
[edit] New Year Dishes
- Sabzi Polo Mahi: The 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: rice cooked with noodles which is said to symbolically help one succeed in life.
- Dolme Barg : A traditional dish of Azeri people, cooked just before the new year. It includes some vegetables, meat and cotyledon which have been cooked and embeded in vine leaf and cooked again. It is considered useful in reaching to wishes.
[edit] Sizdah Bedar
The thirteenth day of the New Year festival is Sizdah Bedar (meaning "thirteen outdoors"), is a day of festivity in the open, often accompanied by music and dancing. The day is usually spent at family picnics.
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, Nowruz 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 (which has symbolically collected all the sickness and bad luck) is thrown into running water to exorcise the demons (divs) from the household. It is also customary for young single women to tie the leaves of the sabzeh before discarding it, so expressing a wish to be married before the next year's Seezdah Bedar.
[edit] Celebration of the Iranian feast, Norouz, by the Kurds
The Kurds celebrate this Iranian feast between 18th till 21th March. The word Norouz is pronounced as 'Newruz' by the Kurds. It is one of the few ‘peoples celebrations’ that has survived and predates all the major religious festivals.
With this festival Kurds gather into the fairgrounds mostly outside the cities to welcome spring. Women wear gaily colored dresses and spangled head scarves and young men wave flags of green, yellow and red, the colors of the Kurdish people. By lighting fire and dancing around it they hold this festival [6], also see: [7].
The Kurdish greetings that accompany the festival are Newroz píroz be! meaning Happy Newroz! or Bijí Newroz! meaning Long live Newroz!
The festival was illegal until 2000 in Turkey, where most of the Kurds live [8], and Turkish forces arrested Kurds celebrating Newroz [9]. In Newroz 1992 at least 70 people celebrating the festival were killed by Turkish security forces [10]. The official Turkey now celebrates Nevruz as a Turkish spring holiday. Newroz is however still considered as a potent symbol of Kurdish identity in Turkey. Newroz celebrations are usually organised by Kurdish cultural associations and pro-Kurdish political parties. Thus, the Democratic Society Party was a leading force in the organisation of the 2006 Newroz events throughout Turkey. In recent years the Newroz celebration gathers around 1 million participants in Diyarbakir, the biggest city of the Kurdish dominated Southeastern Turkey. As the Kurdish Newroz celebrations in Turkey often are theater for political messages, the events are frequently criticized for rather being political rallies than cultural celebrations.
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith, a religion with its origin in Iran, celebrates this day (spelling it "Naw Rúz") as a religious holiday marking not only the new year according to the Bahá'í calendar, but the end of their Nineteen Day Fast. Persian Bahá'ís still observe many Iranian customs associated with it, but Bahá'ís all over the world celebrate it as a festive day, according to local custom. American Bahá'í communities, for example, may have a potluck dinner, along with prayers and readings from Bahá'í scripture. While Naw Rúz, according to scripture, begins on the vernal equinox, Bahá'ís outside Iran currently celebrate it on March 21, regardless of what day the equinox falls. Bahá'ís are required to suspend work and school in observance.
Although the Persian calendar is very precise about the very moment that the astronomical new year begins, in Iran, the 24-hour period (as per "wall clock" time) in which the astronomical new year begins is treated as Norouz.
[edit] Fasli
Adherents of the Fasli variant of the Zoroastrian calendar also celebrate Norouz as the first day of the New Year. Other variants of the Zoroastrian calendar celebrate the Norouz twice: once as Jamshedi Norouz on March 21st as the start of spring, and a second Norouz, in July/August (see Variations of the Zoroastrian calendar), as either new year's eve or new year's day. That the second Nowruz is celebrated by some as the last day of the year (contrary to what might be expected from a term that means "new day"), may be due to the fact that in ancient Persia the day began at sunset, while in later Persian belief the day began at sunrise.
[edit] Norouz in Caucasus region and Central Asia
Norouz is celebrated by Iranians publicly worldwide. It is publicly celebrated in the Caucasus region and central Asia. It is a colorful holiday in: Afghanistan [11], Azerbaijan [12], Turkmenistan [13], Tajikistan [14], Uzbekistan [15], Pakistan [16], Kazakhstan [17], and Kyrgyzstan [18].
Norouz is also celebrated by Kurds in Iraq [19] and Turkey [20].
Other notable celebrations take place by Iranians in America, such as Los Angeles [21] and Toronto and in United Kingdom, mainly in London [22].
[edit] Trivia
On June 1, 2006, the word for Norouz was used in the final session of the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the United States. 11-year-old contestant Allion Salvador of Fort Lauderdale Florida was eliminated from the top 13 contestants in the final rounds for offering the spelling "naoruse" rather than the spelling "nauruz" that was considered correct for the competition [23] [24]. The official pronouncer prompted Salvador with a pronunciation in which the first syllable was pronounced like the English word "now" rather than "no", and indicated that no alternative pronunciations were available. The origin of the word was described as Persian and the definition given was, approximately, the Persian New Year holiday. It is noteworthy that there appears to be little agreement over how to spell this word in English and that neither the spelling considered official by Scripps nor the offered pronunciation would appear to be considered correct by most people familiar with the word [25][26]. In fact, the spelling "nauruz" considered officially correct for the competition does not appear in the above list of spelling variations (as of 15 June 2006).
[edit] External links
- Noruz at Encyclopedia Britannica
- Noruz: The Iranian new year festival
- NOROOZ, THE NEW YEAR OF THE IRANIAN PEOPLES by The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies at University of London'.
- The Iranian New Year: NOROOZ, The Most Important Event In Iranian Culture
- Norouz at Webster's On-line dictionary
- Information about Nowruz
- Ancient Iranian Calendars, Customs, Festivals & Rituals (CAIS)
- The Festival of Nowruz
- The New Year's Ceremonies and Tradition
- Nowruz - celebration of the spring Equinox
- STRUGGLE OF DAY AND NIGHT by Prof A.H. Zarrinkoub.
- UNESCO To Register National Iranian New Year of Norouz as Global Heritage
- Norouz in the Course of History
- Norouz Celebrations in Tajikistan
- How many seconds spent from nowrouz start time?
- The Anthropological Research Foundation of Iran's website on Norouz
- Kurd's - Persian New Year and its Assyrian - Babylonian origin
- Akitu (the New Year Festival) and Newruz (Nuroz)
