NowRuz (literally, New Day), Which marks the beginning of the Iranian New Year, is at once the most important, the longest, and the most joyous ancient festival/ritual celebrated by Iranian of all religions, regions and ethnic groups. Iranians are one of the few remaining people today who mark the new year on the vernal equinox: the precise instant, which varies from year to year. When the sun crosses the earth’s equator and enters the zodiacal sign of Ram, when night and day are equal lengths and spring officially begins.
As a spring rite. NowRuz symbolizes all the qualities of the season: rebirth, renewal, hope, cleanliness, knowledge of and sensitivity to nature. However in 25 centuries, NowRuz, with it’s wealth of ancient rites, customs, ceremonies and traditions, has assumed a much wider meaning. It signifies the importance of kinship, of friendship, of inter-generational memory and generosities, and above all, that continuity of that Iranian culture, civilization and spirit which has survived so many adversities.
The origins of NowRuz, though somewhat obscured by the dust of many centuries, lies in both the historical and legendry sources. Historically, NowRuz was a Pan Iranian spring festival reconstructed by Zarathustra, the ancient prophet of Iran (born in 1768 B.C.), it was the Zoroastrians who in ancient times adopted the solar calendar, which is still used today as the national calendar of Iran. On a more mythical level, according to Persian legends as preserved in the national epic, the Shah Nameh (The book of Kings), the festival of NowRuz began with the mythical king Jamshid. Various Iranian dynasties have added different ceremonies and refined the previous ones. In essence, the ritual has remained the same through out the centuries.
Preparations for the two week festival begin well in advance. It involves both specific activities and careful gathering and cultivation of the items necessary for the ritual. The last Wednesday before New Year anticipates the move towards newness and health which are given full expression in NowRuz as a spring rite. On this day ceremonial bush-fires are lit and all members of the family go through a ritual of jumping over these fires while repeating traditional verses regarding the purifying qualities of fire with respect to health. This ritual is believed to throw sickness and bad luck into the fire and leave them behind to the old year. In terms of specific preparation, a week or two before the new year grains of wheat or lentils are soaked in water, and after they germinate, are spread over a dish to grow. The resulting fresh mass of green blades (Sabzeh) is an essential, symbolic decoration of the festival. Apart from being a token of spring. Sabzeh is also a sign of growth and fertility, a symbol of good omen which signifies the renewal of life. The Sabzeh must be taken out and thrown into running water on the 13th day of NowRuz. This is thought to take away with it any bad luck and misfortune of the previous year.
Sabzeh is also one of the items in the quintessential arrangement of NowRuz called Haft-sin. Literally the seven S’s. Seven is considered a sacred number in mythical and astrological beliefs in Iran, as in many other cultures. Together with Sabzeh, the seven-piece arrangement traditionally consists of the following symbolic articles: Sib (apple), Sonbol (hyacinth flower), Samanu (sweet wheat pudding), Sir (garlic), Senjed (Bohemian olive), and Serkeh (vinegar). However the exact symbolic value of many of these is lost to people who observe it religiously.
As a rule, the Haft-Sin table is also adorned with candles lit for each member of the family (absent or present) and allowed to burn down completely. The light symbolism recalls a Zoroastrian belief that there should be light whenever there are souls to be protected from evil, which is associated with cold and darkness. Some consider NowRuz to be in fact dedicated to the principle of fire and light. Although there are local and familial variations, each NowRuz table also includes a copy of the holy book of the households faith in which gold coins as well as regular currency are placed to be exchanged as blessed gifts after the year has “turned.” The “turn” of the year is itself epitomized in the form of a clear bowl of water in which an orange floats. According to one of the most popular ancient NowRuz myths, the earth’s axis rotates on the horn of a bull or ram, itself supported on the back of the fish. This aspect of the myth is present at the table in the form of gold fish swimming in a bowl of water.
Every time a new year begins, the bull tosses the earth from one horn to another. But the movement is carried out so gently that it can only be detected by the motion of the orange floating in water or forward thrust of the fish in water. Iranian children in particular watch for these with eagerness and excitement and believe the myth with as much faith as children in the West have in the existence of Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny.
When finally the very moment of the New Year arrives, the family members, by this time all bathed and clad in new or clean clothes and gather around the Haft Sin table, engage in a warm emotional round of greetings, embraces, kisses and exchange of gifts. Traditionally, the gifts are money or gold coins and the flow is controlled uni-directionally by age, i.e. from the old to the young.
Visiting relatives and friends, a characteristic feature of NowRuz, begins on the first day and continues to the end of the twelfth. The ceremonies are then brought to an appropriate end y spending the thirteenth day in the open country. It is considered unlucky to stay at home. By going out into the fresh green fields along the banks of running streams, one welcomes in the spring and leaves all the bad luck associated with the number thirteen on the lap nature where it can do no harm.