Happy Iranian New Year!

Trip Start Jan 10, 2007
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Trip End Jul 03, 2007


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Flag of United Arab Emirates  ,
Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Sometime around three in the morning on this date, Iran celebrated its New Year, which is known if Farsi as Norouz, or "New Day".  It begins on the first day of spring, and represents rebirth.

There are a whole host of traditions that go along with this, like eating seven foods, all of which start with the letter S in Farsi.  I'm not going to list them, because it's long and drawn out.  There is also this thing where you jump over a bonfire as sort of a cleansing ritual, which hearkens back to the days of Zoroastrianism.  And as with New Year's in the West, people make resolutions; I know this because my roomate is Iranian, and she told me.

Some wealthy, modern Iranians also have a new tradition of going to Dubai, to get drunk, I guess.  Stupid Westernizing influence!

This lasts for thirteen days, at which point the celebrations are over; in Iran they get two weeks off--don't you wish they did the same for Easter or Christmas?
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