Spring means renewal and rebirth in a lot of cultures. For Persians, it represents the start of the new year. What is Nowruz and how is it celebrated? Find out in this episode of Religionish.
In this episode, I speak with my friend Samira Rajabi. She is an instructor and the director of technology influenced practice at CU-Boulder. Samira is also a brilliant public speaker who shared her work on trauma at TedX Boulder in 2019.
Nowruz Traditions
Nowruz marks the new year in Persian culture and brings together family, friends, and new beginnings. There are different foods, rituals, and symbols affiliated with the holiday and celebrations can last up to two weeks.
Some aspects of Nowruz tie back to the ancient Persian faith of Zoroastrianism. For instance, the purifying ritual of jumping over the fire connects to the symbolic importance of fire within the Zoroastrian tradition.
Zoroastrianism dates back approximately 4,000 years and is still an active faith within Persian culture. Listen to the episode to hear more about the religion’s prophet Zoroaster and the Parsi culture. Maybe you’ll learn something about the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury.
An important part of Nowruz is the Haft Seen, the table setting including 7 symbolic items that being with the letter seen (s). Here is a photo of Samira’s Haft Seen.
Samira and I close out the episode discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Nowruz celebrations. She explains how her family in coming together virtually and discusses the effect of the virus on Iranian celebrations.
Samira compares the importance of Nowruz in Iran to Christmas in the U.S.
I’m thinking…
This episode marks the first installment of the “I’m thinking” segment. At this time, I’m thinking about the 2020 Census. There has been a lot of misinformation about the census that may prevents folks from being counted for necessary services.
I’ll be going more in-depth about the 2020 Census in this week’s Religionish Newsletter. Don’t forget to sign-up before Friday to get access to this 2020 Census rundown.
#ReligionNerd Moment
As promised, here is a photo of what I saw on the way to the grocery store.
Yep, that’s it.
Stay safe everyone and don’t forget to social distance.