Holidays and Holy Days - Nowrūz (Zoroastrian)

This blogpost series is called Holidays and Holy Days to inform our OSU community about significant religious and spiritual observances. If you know of a significant holiday or holy day coming up, please communicate the information to Hannah Pynn hannah.pynn@oregonstate.edu in the Dean of Student Life office.

March 21st, 2013 is Nowrūz, the Iranian/Persian New Year and the most important Zoroastrian holiday.

Context

The word Nowrūz (pronounced NO-ROOZ) is a compound of two Persian words that mean “new” and “day”. Nowrūz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the spring equinox. Nowrūz (also spelled Noruz or Newroz) is a Zoroastrian festival that was invented by Zoroaster, the founder of the Zoroastrian religion. Nowrūz is a 13 day festival that begins on the night of the equinox when families gather to celebrate the sun crossing the equator.

While the Zoroastrian faith was founded in Iran, Nowrūz is also celebrated in parts of India, Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, Crimea, and in the Balkans. Iranians and Parsis around the world celebrate Nowrūz, regardless of their religious backgrounds Nowrūz is also considered a non-religious national holiday in many countries. Baha’i’s also celebrate Nowrūz as the conclusion to their Nineteen Day Fast. It is unclear when this holiday was first celebrated, but records show that it began during the ancient Persian empire between 555-330 BC and the holiday persisted after the establishment of Islam in Iran.

Significance

Some believe that actions on Nowrūz affect the rest of the coming year, so if kindness and generosity is demonstrated on Nowrūz, the coming year will be good. Nowrūz also is a time for cleaning the house to make their lives fresh for the new year. Preparations for Nowrūz in Iran begin almost a month in advance, in anticipation of the most important holiday in Iran. Baha’i’s view the holiday as a time for internal spiritual cleansing in addition to physical cleansing. Shia Muslims celebrate Nowrūz as the day when Ali was declared the successor of the prophet.

Rituals/Traditions

The Haft-Sin (or the Seven S’s) is a table that displays 7 traditional items that begin with S
1. Sabza – wheat, barley or lentils that have been allowed to grow for 7 days, symbolizing renewal and are disposed of after the celebration to symbolize taking away the bad influences of the previous year
2. Sepand – seeds of wild rue burned as incense
3. Sib – apples (symbolizing beauty and health)
4. Sekka – newly minted coins (symbolizing wealth)
5. Sir – garlic cloves (symbolizing medicine)
6. Serka – vinegar (symbolizing age and patience)
7. Samanu – a thick, sweet paste made from wheat, oil, water, almonds and walnuts (symbolizing affluence)
8. Additional items often used to decorate the haft-sin table include:
  1. Candles (Fire)
  2. Mirrors (Sky)
  3. Colored eggs (Fertility)
  4. A holy book
  5. Hyacinth flowers
  6. Dried fruit
  7. Sumac berries
  8. Wine
  9. Sugar/honey/syrup/candy
Wearing new clothes and shoes, then donating the previous year’s clothing to the poor
Exchanging gifts between friends and family
Outdoor picnics to avoid bad luck on the 13th day of Nowrūz
Lighting fire (the holy element of Zoroastrianism) and holding celebrations around the fire, or jumping over bonfires!
Visiting elders of the family first, then making short visits to friends and family