Iran 's new year

Hi every body
As some of my overseas friends are interested to know more about Iran new year and specially Haftsin tableclose , here are a short article about Iran new year and it 's origin . I have to confess that most of the sentences aren't mine and I have colleted them from different web pages in the past . Here you are :

History of Iran's new year

Iran 's new year which is called "Norooz" is in the vernal equinox ( in 20 march ) and it has celebrated for a very long time in Iran about 1500 years before Christ . At the " Daryush " the great of the " Achaemenian " dynasty in 487 B.C.E , The " Perspolis " ( that now is located near Shiraz city of Iran and it is a very well known tourist attraction of Iran and I had uploaded some photo of it in my photo Album in face book ) was made about thirty years before a special day , that the start of Persians new year was exactly in the vernal equinox . At that time it was an important event ! In " Achaemenian " , kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor on " Norooz " day and there were some special official huge celebration in " Perspolis " . I think my next challenge must be managing an article about " Perspolis " and the purpose of it 's building and it's final tragic fate , if you are interested to know about it !
Here are the link for the photos of Perspolis in my face book photo album :
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135477&l=94af8&id=1031206274


Persians, Afghans and other groups start preparing for the " Norooz " with a major spring-cleaning of their houses, the purchase of new clothes to wear for the new year and the purchase of flowers (in particular the hyacinth and the tulip are popular and conspicuous). Wheat, barley, lentils, and other vegetables seeds are soaked to grow on plates . A special table is laid ( Haft sin tablecloth ) . It has a copy of the sacred book , mostly Koran ( Muslim 's holly book ) a mirror, candles, incense burner, bowl of water with live gold fish, the plates and vessels with green sprouts, flowers, fruits, coins, bread, sugar cone, various grains, fresh vegetables, colorfully painted boiled eggs like the “Easter eggs,” and above all, seven articles with their names beginning in Persian with the letter s or sh. The usual things with s are vinegar, sumac, garlic, " Samanu " (consistency of germinating wheat), apple, " Senjed " (A kind of dried fruit ), and herbs .( you can see tow photo of typical our special table cloth for new year in my Photo album in face book , too ) . And it 's common to cook some special foods for the feast eve .

Norooz preparation

In association with the "rebirth of nature", extensive spring-cleaning is a national tradition observed by almost every household in Persia. This is also extended to personal attire, and it is common to buy at least one set of new clothes. On the New Year's day, families dress in their new clothes and start the twelve-day celebrations by visiting the elders of their family, then the rest of their family and finally their friends. On the thirteenth day of new year families leave their homes and have picnic outdoors.

During the " Norooz " holidays people are expected to visit each others (mostly limited to families, friends and neighbours) in the form of short house visits, which are usually reciprocated. Typically, on the first day of " Norooz ", family members gather around the table, with the Haft Seen on the table or set next to it ( I have explained it in my photo album ) , and await the exact moment of the arrival of the spring. At that time gifts are exchanged. Later in the day, the first house visits are paid to the most senior family members. Typically, the youth will visit the elders first, and the elders return their visit later. The visits naturally have to be relatively short, otherwise one will not be able to visit everybody on their list. A typical visit is around 30 minutes, where you often run into other visiting relatives and friends who happen to be paying a visit to the same house at that time. Because of the house visits, you make sure you have a sufficient supply of pastry, cookies, fresh and dried fruits and special nuts on hand, as you typically serve your visitors with these items with tea or shorbet.

Some Nowruz celebrants believe that whatever a person does on "Norooz " will affect the rest of the year. So, if a person is warm and kind to their relatives, friends and neighbours on " Norooz " , then the new year will be a good one. On the other hand, if there are fights and disagreements, the year will be a bad one.
New year holiday
In Iran 's new year there are a long holiday for schools and university for 14 days or more and 13th day of new year in the end of " Norooz " ceremony . At that day which is supposed a bad day( the number of 13 is brings unlucky ) , all families try going outdoor for a picnic and so there are masses of people in woods , jungles and beaches and other holiday resorts . That 's all about Iran 's new year . I hope you have n't been bored with this long story .
I 'm waiting for your all nice comments .Have fun and see you later
Pary