We've spent a lot of time covering Iran here on Winds of Change.NET, and one of the rewards is being notified of events like Nowruz (No Ruz, "new day" or "new year"). It begins on the 1st day of Spring (Vernal Equinox or "Saal-Tahveel"), and lasts for 13 days. I emailed Kaveh of Freethoughts.org to ask about it, and he replied:
"Noruz is also celebrated in Afghanistan and Tajikstan as an official holiday, and the Kurds and many of the middle Asian countries also celebrate it, but probably they don't have an official holiday, like Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikstan [the Persian speaking countries]."
He also sent us a few links where we can learn more:
- Iranian.com offers details of the celebrations
- Persia.org: Mythology & Meaning of Nowruz
- Persian calendars & arrival dates each year
- Central Asia specialist Nathan Hamm of The Argus writes about "Navruz" in Uzbekistan. Bairamingiz Bilan!
Iranian.com also informed me of this aspect to the holiday:
"It is Amou Noruz or Haji Firuz (Uncle New Year, similar to Santa Claus) who kicks out the winter cold and brings life to nature and warmth to every household."
Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but Toronto has a large Iranian community - perhaps Amou Noruz could, like, hurry up a little?
Navruz (as it's spelled in Uzbekistan) is a really big deal, but then again, there's a huge Persian influence on the culture. It is an official holiday and all the women dig fire pits in front of the aparment buildings to make a wheat porridge that is called something that translates to "40 Angels."
Unfortunately, I was at an in-service training during the meat of the celebration :(