10 Steps to Celebrate Nowruz Like an Iranian

Updated: 8 July 2019

It’s my favorite time of year- mother nature waking up from her winter slumber. The temperature warms up, the air smells different, you start hearing birds chirping again, and then suddenly out of the blue, you spot the first blossom (or the first châghâle bâdum– spring almonds- in Tajrish)! I love Tehran at this time, with its schizophrenic weather patterns of sun one minute and showers/snow the next. Growing up in the US, Nowruz was more like my second new year- a second chance at those pesky resolutions I had already been unfaithful to in the first quarter. But since I’ve been in Iran, I feel more and more like Nowruz (literally, ‘new day’) is the new year. Truly a rebirth and a possibility of a new life. 

Nowruz is commonly mistaken as only being celebrated in Iran, but it’s actually an official holiday across countries in Central Asia, the Caucuses, and parts of the Balkans, countries which once made up the ancient Persian Empire. But, of course, this post is all about Nowruz in Iran and how to celebrate the season like an Iranian.

Shake your house

A new day calls for some serious spring cleaning. Maybe that’s why Iranians refer to it as خانه تکانی / khuneh tekuni, literally “shaking the house”. Because the house needs a good shaking to not only get it sparkling again but to also rid it of all the negative energy that’s built up over the year. In Iran, you’ll spot rugs hanging out to dry or an unusually high number of those frightening blue trucks transporting rolled up rugs throughout the city (for those who opt to hire rug cleaning services). Your house will feel so much lighter once you’re done.

Jump over the fire

After cleaning your house, it’s time to purify your soul. Enter Châhârshanbe Suri, the Zoroastrian-rooted fire-jumping festival. At dusk on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, the skies across Iran light up. For hours, you’ll hear the constant sound of fire crackers, sparklers, ground spinners, and virtually any other type of unsupervised pyrotechnics you can think of. More recently, people send up sky lanterns filled with their hopes for the new year. All of this leads to jumping over the bonfire, symbolic of exchanging any negativity and sickness you have for the fire’s positive energy and warm glow. As you do, you say these verses to the fire:

سرخی تو از من / sorkhi-ye to az man (give me your beautiful red color)

زردی من از تو / zardi-ye man az to (and take my sickly pallor)

Another tradition that happened on Châhârshanbe Suri is ghâshogh zani, or spoon banging. People would wear long chadors to cover their faces and bang spoons or ladles, and neighbors would put sweets and other goodies in the ladle. My dad recalls getting eggs in his hometown while my mom used to get noghl (a kind of confection) in hers. 

There was also kuzeh shekani, or breaking water jugs. People used to keep water in kuzeh (clay jugs), but throughout the year, they would get old and dirty. Since Nowruz is all about renewal, friends and neighbors would put some coins in the empty kuzeh and break them so they’d have to buy new ones for the new year. Children would then collect the money that came out of the broken kuzeh.

Finally, there’s the tradition of fâl gush neshini. Like Yalda Night, Châhârshanbe Suri is another auspicious day on which Iranians like to interpret fâl (divination). On Yalda, Iranians get a fortune reading from Hafez (called fâl-e Hafez) while on Châhârshanbe Suri, it’s tradition to do fâl gush neshini (eavesdrop). People make a wish (niyat kardan) and then listen to what they hear and interpret those words as divination. 

These last three practices of ghâshogh zani, kuzeh shekani, and fâl gush neshini are ones that people of my parents’ generation and before remember taking part in, but they aren’t commonly practiced these days. 

Catch sightings of Hâji Firooz

In the weeks leading up to Nowruz in Iran, you can spot Hâji Firooz, the jovial character with a face of soot who dons a red outfit and plays a tambourine or tombak as he sings short, repetitive songs. Why a face of soot? It’s said that in ancient times, Zoroastrian priests sent Hâji Firooz to spread the word of Nowruz. As he helped people burn their old belongings to make way for renewal, his face turned black from the smoke.

Amoo Nowruz (Uncle Nowruz) is another legendary character (similar to Santa Claus) known to accompany Haji Firooz. Finally, there’s Naneh Sarmâ (Grandma Frost), the wife of Amoo Nowruz and a character representing winter. Her folkloric tale is a long one, but in a nutshell, she prepares herself and her home for the New Year and waits for Amoo Nowruz to arrive. But she falls asleep in the meantime, and when he does show up, he leaves her a flower and disappears without waking her. Naneh Sarmâ then has to wait until the following spring to see him again.

These days, we mostly see Hâji Firooz around the streets and bazaars signaling the arrival of Nowruz.

Buy new clothes

What better excuse to go shopping than “I have to because it’s Nowruz”? And indeed new beginnings call for new clothes. So go ahead and get yourself something you like and be sure to have it on when the clock strikes 01:28:27 Tehran time this year.

Set your Haft Seen Table

Ahh, the pièce de résistance of Nowruz- the Haft Seen Table (سفره هفت سین / sofreh Haft Seen in Persian), a table of seven items, all beginning with the Persian letter /س/ seen, or “s”. What are they, and what do they symbolize? I’m so glad you asked! (Vegans, take note– they are all plant-based!)

سبزه / sabzeh: lentil and/or wheat sprouts, symbolizing growth and rebirth

سیب / seeb: apple, symbolizing beauty and health

سنجد / senjed: oleaster, symbolizing love

سمنو / samanu: wheat germ pudding, symbolizing affluence

سماق / somâgh: sumac, symbolizing the color of sunrise

سیر / seer: garlic, symbolizing medicine

سرکه / serkeh: vinegar, symbolizing age and patience

Other things to add are a holy book, a book of literature (the poems of Hafez / Shahnameh, etc), goldfish (to symbolize life), hyacinth, candles (to symbolize enlightenment), painted eggs (symbolizing fertility and usually one for each child in the family), sekeh (“coins” symbolizing wealth and prosperity) which can also count as a seen, a mirror (symbolizing honesty), and some sweets like toot (almond paste shaped like mulberries with a pistachio sliver to serve as the ‘stem’). 

Count down to midnight the vernal equinox

No counting down to midnight in these parts. Instead, Iranians count down to the very second of the vernal equinox, known as سال تحویل / sâl tahvil in Persian, which is happening in 2019 on Thursday, March 21 at 01:28:27 Tehran time. (Check out the virtual countdown to get the time in your city.) This year will be 1398 on the Iranian calendar. Families gather around the Haft Seen Table and hug and kiss. And what do you say?

سال نو مبارک / Sâl-e No Mobârak (Happy New Year)

عید شما مبارک / Eid-e Shomâ Mobârak (Happy New Year to you)

نوروز مبارک /Nowruz Mobârak (Happy New Year)

Fun Fact: In 2010, the UN General Assembly recognized March 21 as International Day of Nowruz.

Give and get eydi

One reason why kids love Nowruz so much is that in Iran, they get عیدی /eydi, money gifts. These are usually crisp, new bills placed inside a holy book. When adults present the book in front of them, children take the money out from it. While younger kids usually get eydi, adults exchange presents, just like at Christmas. 

Eat to your heart’s content

All the celebration is likely to give you the munchies. And on Nowruz, you must have sabzi polo mâhi, herb rice with white fish, and kookoo sabzi, an herb frittata, both of which symbolize the coming spring. Sweets such as baklava or other pastries are also plentiful.

See your friends (and then see them again)

Deed-o bâz deed, as they say in Persian. During the two weeks that follow Nowruz, families and friends visit each other. Younger people are supposed to visit their older and elderly relatives first as a sign of respect, and then their visit is returned. The giving and getting of eydi continues at each household, which is why children are usually more than willing to go!

Spend the 13th in nature

The 13th and final day of Nowruz is nature day, or سیزده بدر /sizdeh bedar, literally, “getting rid of 13”. It’s bad luck to stay indoors, so Iranians spend the day in parks barbecuing, making and eating âsh (a thick noodle and bean soup), playing games, and of course drinking glass after glass of tea! By this time, the sabzeh from the Haft Seen Table is supposed to have absorbed any remaining negativity in the house, so it is discarded into flowing water. Sometimes beforehand, single girls tie a knot with the sprouts in hopes of being married by the next year (or maybe just to make a wish). 

In Tehran, the highways practically become parking lots on sizdeh bedar as people just park their cars and go find a verdant patch to spend the day. Because many cars place the sabzeh on the hood or trunk as they drive, letting it fall off on its own, you might even spot some sabzeh roadkill alongside the highways.  

If you happen to be in Tehran in the weeks and days leading up to Nowruz, make sure you hit the Tajrish Bazaar area- by far the most popular place to go shopping for Haft Seen supplies and generally bask in Nowruz vibes!

نوروزتان پیشاپیش مبارک

Nowruzetun pishâpish mobârak! (Happy Nowruz in advance!)

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