New Year in the Time of Crisis for Iranians
How long are you going to wound me with grief?
Keep me wondering in the lane of separation?
If in the end, you will raise me from dust,
Why do you cast me away like an arrow?
Is the Persian couplet that has written on this beautiful folio from the Safavid dynasty and at the time when Iranians normally celebrate Nowruz, the new year concrete with the arrival of spring they are faced with multiple challenges. Iran is among the hardest hit by the Coronavirus.
Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendars.
However, during the Nowruz holidays, people are expected to make short visits to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors. Typically, young people will visit their elders first, and the elders return their visit later. But this time as people want to prevent from Covid19, they are all in self-isolation.
It is interesting that this folio while is the representative of Spring, she is in self-isolation too!
If you are interested to practice it like Iranians, here are some tips:
Keep me wondering in the lane of separation?
If in the end, you will raise me from dust,
Why do you cast me away like an arrow?
Is the Persian couplet that has written on this beautiful folio from the Safavid dynasty and at the time when Iranians normally celebrate Nowruz, the new year concrete with the arrival of spring they are faced with multiple challenges. Iran is among the hardest hit by the Coronavirus.
Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendars.
However, during the Nowruz holidays, people are expected to make short visits to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors. Typically, young people will visit their elders first, and the elders return their visit later. But this time as people want to prevent from Covid19, they are all in self-isolation.
It is interesting that this folio while is the representative of Spring, she is in self-isolation too!
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| Detached album folio: Woman with a spray of flowers Smithsonian (National Museum of Asian Art) Safavid period, ca. 1575 Iran |
Holiday Customs
1. The first step is to SHAKE YOUR HOUSE :
A new day calls for some serious spring cleaning. Maybe that’s why Iranians refer to it as "Khaneh Tekani" literally “shaking the house”. Because the house needs a good shaking to not only get it sparkling again but to also rid it of all the negative energy that’s built up over the year.
In Iran, you will spot rugs hanging out to dry.
Your house will feel so much lighter once you’re done.
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| A family during Khane Tekani, 1970, Iran |
2. Catch sightings of "Hâji Firooz"
In the weeks leading up to Nowruz in Iran, you can spot Hâji Firooz, the jovial character with a face of soot who dons a red outfit and plays a tambourine or tombak as he sings short repetitive songs. Why a face of soot? It’s said that in ancient times, Zoroastrian priests sent Hâji Firooz to spread the word of Nowruz. As he helped people burn their old belongings to make way for renewal, his face turned black from the smoke.
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| Tajrish Bazaar, Tehran, Iran |
3. Festival of Fire (Click)
4. Count down to midnight the vernal equinox
No counting down to midnight in these parts. Instead, Iranians count down to the very second of the vernal equinox, known as سال تحویل / sâl tahvil in Persian, which is happening in 2020 on Friday, March 20 at 07:19 Tehran time. (Check out the virtual countdown to get the time in your city.) This year will be 1399 on the Iranian calendar. Families gather around the Haft Seen Table and hug and kiss.
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| Painted by: Hosein Sheykh |
5. Set your Haft Seen
The Haft Seen Table, a table of seven items, all beginning with the Persian letter /س/ seen, or “s”. What are they, and what do they symbolize? Go for it and find out! |
| My Haft Seen, 19th March 2020 |
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