Description
In the beginning of spring, at the renewal of nature. Families gather around a table with seven symbolic items whose names start with the sound “S”. Wearing new clothes, in freshly cleaned houses they wait the exact moment of vernal equinox. The air is filled with the smell of hyacinth and the soft spring sunlight glitters on the Persian carpet. Children staring at the cookies on the table, count the seconds impatiently. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year. When the moment arrives. The families celebrate the new year by eating sweets, giving gifts and reading poetry. This is Nowruz (lit. “new day”), the Iranian (Persian) New Year. It is celebrated worldwide by various ethno-linguistic groups. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia.
