Commentary: Consider this an invitation to Persian New Year
Every year around March 20, at spring equinox, when day and night are of equal length and the sun passes the celestial equator, people of Persian heritage around the world celebrate the end of the cold winter and the beginning of the warmer spring.
This coincides with the rebirth of planet Earth and rejuvenation of Mother Nature.
At that exact moment, the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, which means “new day” in English, begins.
The New Year celebration has deep roots in Persian culture, history and heritage and has been going on for millennia. Age-old traditions, from appreciation of bestowed blessings to preparation of special foods, gifts given to younger ones and a spread of seven items starting with the letter S, such as Sumac, are all part of Nowruz.
Each of the seven items symbolically represents a kind of blessing. Traditionally, families gather around this special spread minutes before Nowruz, and at the beginning of New Year wish each other and friends and all the people of the world, health, happiness, harmony, love and peace.
Since the Iranian diaspora, Nowruz has been celebrated in major cities of the U.S., Canada and Europe. In the last few years, U.S. presidents have delivered Nowruz speeches at the start of the Persian New Year.
March 21 is also proclaimed International Nowruz Day by the United Nations General Assembly. And as the U.N. secretary general said, “Nowruz reminds us of the values and aspirations we all share for peace through tolerance, respect and mutual understanding.”
Nowruz is believed to have deep roots in the Zoroastrian faith, the religion of ancient Iran, but is a purely secular event celebrated in many countries by people of Persian heritage with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Several cities across the U.S. have Nowruz proclamations. In Southern California, several Nowruz celebrations take place as well. Nowruz in Irvine and in Westwood are the largest. These events have been planned and managed well in advance by a diverse group of Iranians.
The Irvine Nowruz is handled by the Iranian American Community, which represents 14 Persian organizations in Orange County. It is led by Michael Chegini, chairman and chief executive of Owen Group, and Shiva Farivar, the festival director.
This year’s Irvine event will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 22 in the rose garden at Bill Barber Community Park, 4 Civic Center Plaza. There will be live music and entertainment, as well as Persian food and related fare.
K.E. MEHRFAR lives in Corona del Mar.