Nowrouz (7)

In this episode, we look at how children celebrate Nowrouz, the importance of Nowrouz for children, and we reminisce about the New Years which have come and gone.

Children live in a world of their own. They view the world very differently to adults. Their innocence and honesty is most striking. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, children love Nowrouz, the Iranian New Year, for many reasons, of course. But one of the principal reasons is that children receive gifts of all kinds – and very often crisp brand-new bank notes -- from their parents and relatives during the Nowrouz holidays. The tradition of giving gifts to younger members of the family during Nowrouz is a very old tradition in Iran which goes back hundreds of years.

Children always look forward to Nowrouz, and impatiently count the days as the New Iranian Year approaches. It was like this 20 years ago, 40 years ago, 60 years ago, one hundred years ago, and it is like this today.

In the run-up to Nowrouz, and in preparation of the Haft-Sin table or the Haft-Sin spread, children paint and decorate eggs as best they can. Even though egg does not begin with s’ in Farsi or Persian, nonetheless it is still one of the items one usually finds on a Haft-Sin table or Haft-Sin spread.

All sorts of things are painted on these eggs, including the Haft-Sin spread , flowers and trees and mountains and valleys, sometimes bright red goldfish which you can also find on the Haft-Sin table, the sun and the moon and the stars, or just using bright spring colours of Green, Yellow, Red, Orange, and Blue to make the eggs as colorful and as festive as possible. There are as many paintings and designs on Nowrouz eggs, as there are children in the Islamic Republic!

Reminiscing about my own childhood, I remember my brother, sister and I competing with one another, to colour the Nowrouz eggs as quickly as we could, and to the best of our abilities, and my mother used to give out “prizes” to whoever produced the best and most beautiful painted egg.

My mother use to place carefully the seven items beginning with ‘s’ on the Haft-Sin Table. These were apples, green shoots, garlic, vinegar, sumac, coins, and senjed (or Russian olive, which is a type of fruit). She also used to place the Holy Quran, candles, a mirror, and a bowl full of water and goldfish on the Haft-Sin table. My mum / mother always used to put three red apples on the Haft-Sin spread, one for each one of her children (one for me, one for my brother, and one for my sister). After the arrival of the New Year, she used to award “prizes” to her children for their “artistic efforts and painting skills”.

The first prize, was a juicy red apple. Each one of us were given a red apple on the first day of the new Iranian year -- Nowrouz. You wouldn’t believe how tasty and sweet those red apples were!! Over forty years have passed since then, and I have eaten many apples during that time, but I can truly say that none were as tasty and sweet as my mum’s red apples!!

Another great Nowrouz tradition is visiting family and relatives during the newyear period, particularly the elder members of the family. When I was a child, we used to visit both my maternal and paternal grandparents during Nowrouz, and we were showered with gifts, and played from morning till dusk with our cousins, nieces and nephews. Now I take my teenage son to visit his grandparents during Nowrouz, and to play with his cousins, nephews, and nieces. This is how the traditions of Nowrouz pass on from one generation to the next.

Nowrouz has been celebrated for thousands of years, and no doubt, it will be celebrated for thousands of years to come!! A happy and prosperous Nowrouz to you all.

MD/AS/MG