Nowruz 2022

20 March 2022 is Nowruz (Perisan New Year). Hug a Persian and wish them “Eid-eh shoma mobarak.”

Nowruz is the Iranian gift-giving holiday. My husband explained that in his family, they give gifts of food, flowers, and or money, and gifts of necessaries. “Necessaries” are gifts of things we need, like pens and writing journals for students and poets, or pots and pans for the cook, longed for home improvements, etc.

The Persian New Year, or “Nowruz,” is so important in Iran that the people clung to it even as the government tried to end it after the Islamic Revolution. The people clung to Nowruz so passionately that the government ended up making it an official state holiday. Also, Nowruz is widely celebrated outside Iran and well beyond the Zoroastrian tradition. It is actually more like our Christmas, in that it’s their giving holiday. They even have a Santa-like figure (not very like, really), who dresses in red and celebrates with the children. He is Hajji Firuz.

“Hāji Firuz or Khwāje Piruz is a fictional character in Iranian folklore who appears in the streets by the beginning of Nowruz. His face is covered in soot, and he is clad in bright red clothes and a felt hat. He dances through the streets while singing and playing a tambourine.” Wikipedia

My gift to you, my readers, is to share three women artists from Iran. I encourage you to check out other modern women artists from Iran.