Norouz and Lifestyle

The New Year of 1396 solar hijri of the Iranian calendar has started by the Grace of God Almighty. The people are celebrating Norouz and enjoying the annual New Year holidays. Various regions of Iran have their own styles and customs of celebrating the New Year. Let us take the topic of lifestyle in this programme.

Today lifestyle is one of the most important issues engaging the minds of thinkers in various fields, especially sociologists. Lifestyle stems from the interests, views and behaviourial patterns of a person, a family, a tribe, a community, a society and a country. This is an important aspect of culture. The specific manner of life of a person, a group or a society can also be referred to as lifestyle which was applied for the first time by Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler in 1929. With the advent of TV and the spread of advertisement how to mould the lifestyle was given a great boost, but while most people believe that they should choose their lifestyle freely the media has had a major impact on the shaping the current lifestyle.

Actually lifestyle implies a range of treats. For instance, the style of association, the type of encounter that people make together in various fields is all part of behaviourial patterns and the interaction of people with each other. The people of a particular city or of a country normally become known for certain characteristics which are the salient features of their culture, such as kindness, hospitality, and cooperation. These features can be found in a set of behaviours and create a lifestyle. You will notice that people are kind or rude, selfless or selfish. When we speak of family lifestyle, the kind of behaviourial patterns of parents with each other and their children determines the family lifestyle. As a matter of fact, cultural influences evolve as a chain. For example what occurred over the past 150 years in Iran, from the time of the Qajarid dynasty and advent of western culture in Iranian society was the beginning of changes in culture and lifestyle in all aspects of both the individual and society. These changes started with the infiltration of western culture and commodities and became so unbridled that they affected all spheres of Iranian culture and civilization. The first western products which entered our society were vehicles and European style of clothes and when these products entered the society they gradually changed the tastes of Iranians. When the tastes changed, western lifestyle was imposed on the Iranian society and changed the ethics as well.

The victory of the Islamic revolution actually manifested the Iranian people’s will for withstanding against this cultural onslaught of the West and return to the Iranian people’s Islamic lifestyle. This does not mean return to the past as might misconstrue. But as we said earlier, lifestyle indicates a range of individual and social behaviour which have unbreakable link with the history and civilization of a people and nation. So this link with the past does not necessarily mean return to the past or blindly adapting mode of dress of the past, similar to the blind aping of the western culture by people without roots in the so-called third world countries. These points should be pondered upon during Norouz, which every year provides freshness to the Iranian society, although it is an ancient tradition. Norouz is the ritual of commemorating change and development and at the time of completion of the Earth’s annual orbit around the Sun, known as Spring Equinox, the Iranians raise their hands towards heavens and beseech God Almighty to change their state to the best of state. Of course they do not ask change for themselves alone but for their relatives and nation and all humans in the world. We know that any change in our lifestyle is made by ourselves. As the holy Qur’an informs us, God Almighty does not change the situation of a nation or people, unless they themselves strive to bring about changes – through positive steps. Thus, if a person wants to change the situation of the society and country, he/she should start with himself/herself. Ethical development, internal development and servitude of God are the keys to achieving prosperity.

Thus, Norouz, is a great opportunity to start changes. In Iranian homes, on the advent of Norouz, preparations are made for the New Year in different ways. This means, we should take stock of our life of the past year, and bring about positive changes. Removing hatred from hearts and reconciling with friends and family members are among the other manifestations of internal development. During the New Year holidays, the tradition of exchanging visits amongst relatives and friends is an excellent habit to foster love and fraternity.

FK/AS/MG

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