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Each year, nearly 300 million people around the world celebrate the new year on the first day of spring, known as Norooz. This major holiday originated in Iran and is celebrated by people throughout Central Asia, the Caucasus, Northwestern China, and in parts of the Middle East, Balkans and South Asia. Although its origins are Zoroastrian, it has long been celebrated by adherents of many faiths.
Members of the Iranian diaspora have brought the traditions of Norooz to their adopted homes and prominent celebrations are also held in North America and Europe. Today, this holiday is celebrated by nonprofits, museums and government institutions as well. From Persepolis to the White House, Norooz has truly become an international celebration in the 21st century.
Norooz Celebrations of Nonprofits
Since the first major wave of immigration to the West in the late 1970s, Iranians continued to hold public celebrations marking the vernal equinox in their new homes. As the Iranian diaspora became established, they began to form associations and nonprofits to organize their outreach efforts.
Many in the diaspora have taken their cue from Kahrizak Charity Foundation, the legendary non-governmental organization in Iran where the physically handicapped and elderly have been taken care of since 1971. For the past 35 years the Ladies Charitable Society (LCS), which provides Kahrizak with operational support and fundraising, has held an annual Norooz bazaar to benefit the organization. Supported entirely by the volunteers who make up LCS, the bazaar is held in Tehran and lasts eight days. It ended last week and the funds raised are expected to surpass $140,000, the amount raised at Kahrizak's last bazaar fundraiser in October 2008. LCS volunteers also contribute by catering an on-site restaurant which serves over 1,000 people per day. Additionally, the wives of foreign ambassadors in Iran set up booths at the bazaar, showcasing souvenirs from their respective countries. Some of this year's participants include France, Germany, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
LCS also hosts Norooz bazaars in support of Kahrizak all over the world. This year, on March 14 and 15, Mrs. Ashraf Ghandehari Bahadorzadeh, co-founder of LCS, will be visiting the United States to support the Norooz bazaar in Cupertino. The event will feature booths selling traditional crafts and pastries whose proceeds will benefit Kahrizak.
One of the largest Norooz celebrations in the United States is the Persian Parade, a nonpolitical, nonpartisan parade held every Norooz along fifteen blocks of Madison Avenue in New York City. In its first year it attracted over 7,000 spectators. Now in its ninth year, it attracts cheering crowds of Iranian-Americans, tourists and Americans alike. The parade features traditional musicians, dance ensembles, floats, marchers and dignitaries. The parade is sponsored in part by the Persian-Iranian Parade Foundation (PIPF). This foundation, comprised of volunteers, philanthropists and artists, has enabled Iranian-Americans to celebrate their cultural heritage while showcasing their accomplishments to the greater community as a whole. Since its inception, the parade has been replicated by other communities in the U.S., Canada and Europe. For example, in 2008, the Iranian New Year Parade of Northern California kicked off its first year of celebrations in San Jose. Click here to view a video of last year's Persian Parade in New York City.
The International Society for Children with Cancer (ISCC) is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization established in 2004 in southern California in order to provide support to children suffering from cancer in developing countries. In 2008, ISCC obtained an OFAC license from the U.S. Department of Treasury, giving it permission to directly send funds to Mahak. Mahak is a nongovernmental organization in Iran whose mission is to assist children suffering from cancer by offering both medical and non-treatment services. In less than two decades Mahak has been able to help more than 12,000 cancer-stricken children. On March 14, ISCC will hold a Norooz bazaar in Costa Mesa, California, to benefit Mahak. Handmade pastries and gifts will be available, as well as children's activities and a traditional dance performance.
Also this March, the Child Foundation will hold its 8th Annual Norooz Bazaar fundraisers in Los Angeles and Irvine, California. Festivities will include, art, music, dance, activities for children and a special appearance from Haji Firooz.
Founded in 2005, the Canadian Iranian Foundation aims to facilitate social and cultural integration of newly arrived immigrants in British Columbia. This year, it will host the second annual Iranian Day Festival in Vancouver, a day-long celebration featuring a performance by Shahram Shabpareh, as well as children's activities and dancing. All proceeds will benefit the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation and the CIF Scholarship Fund.
In England, the Iran Heritage Foundation will be holding its annual Norooz gala in London. The evening will include a performance by Farshid Amin, who is well-known for having performed his song 'Change' at a victory gala for President Barack Obama in November 2008. IHF's gala will also include a reception and dinner. Norooz Education and Outreach Through Museums
In recent years, major American institutions have taken steps to celebrate Norooz as a means to build bridges between cultures. These events have gradually increased in size and scope and attract audiences of all backgrounds.
In 2007, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hosted for the first
time 'Noruz at the Met,' an annual gala fundraiser which is being held again this year. The event begins with a cocktail reception in the Great Hall, where a beautiful 'haft seen' is on display. The haft seen table includes seven specific items starting with the letter 'S' (or 'Seen' in the Persian alphabet). The items symbolically correspond with values such as rebirth, love, affluence, health, beauty, fertility and happiness. A special exhibit with historical art and carpets from Iran is also open to guests. The event serves as a fundraiser for a new Persian gallery at the Met.
The Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution also support bridge-building and education through Norooz. This year, on March 7, the galleries will hold a day-long celebration entitled 'Nowruz! A Persian New Year Celebration.' The celebration will begin with a song and dance performance by Aatash, an Iranian culture group from George Washington University. Then, a storyteller will perform excerpts from the 'Shahnameh,' or Book of Kings, followed by a screening of the animated film 'Babak and Friends: A First Norooz.' A 'haft seen' table will be on display throughout the day and children will be invited to create Norooz-themed greeting cards and t-shirts. Later in the afternoon, celebrated chef and cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij will discuss the meaning of the 'haft seen' table and sign copies of her newest book 'Happy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year.' Lastly, musician Mamak Khadem and her ensemble will perform at the Freer Auditorium. The event kicks off the Freer and Sackler Galleries' 'The Year of Iran' which will include two Iran-themed exhibitions later this year.
As part of its 'Passport to the World' series, the Chicago Children's Museum will hold a special 'Passport to Persia' weekend from March 12-15 this year. Events will include decorating eggs, singing and dancing and learning about the traditions of Norooz.
Norooz education has also been added to the programming of the Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles. This year, they will hold a family workshop hosted by local educators Mojdeh Zavosh and Omid Arabian who will teach the audience about this ancient holiday. Participants will take part in crafts activities centered around a Norooz theme.
The Farhang Foundation has announced a Norooz celebration this March at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The two-day event is free to the public and will feature a classical Iranian dance recital by the Djanbazian Dance Company and a talk on the significance and symbolism of the Norooz tradition by Professor Amin Banani, UCLA, followed by a musical performance by Namad Ensemble. In addition, the weekend programs will highlight Iranian cultural traditions, including a 'haft seen'.
The Network of Iranian-American Professionals of Orange County (NIPOC) will host a Norooz celebration party this year and in addition, they are offering supporters the opportunity to adopt a Norooz banner. The 2007 launch of this project was supported by PARSA CF and since then, NIPOC has raised funds to hang banners celebrating the Persian Norooz along major thoroughfares in the city of Irvine, California.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art will hold its fourth annual Celebrate Norooz event this March 9, featuring a performance by the Silk Road Dance Company. The 'haft seen' will be displayed, along with a Parsee Navroz presentation and a demonstration by renowned painter Nasser Ovissi. At the end of the day an interactive Norooz-inspired Make-and-Take Workshop will be held in the Museum's galleries of Middle Eastern art.
The British Museum in London will hold a weekend-long 'Norouz Family Weekend' this March, sponsored by Magic of Persia. This event will showcase Norooz-themed arts and crafts, as well as storytelling and music heralding the arrival of spring. The event coincides with the museum's current exhibitions, Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran and Takhti: A Modern Iranian Hero.
Norooz at College Campuses
The next generation of Iranians has been hard at work promoting Norooz as a way to bring the community together via college campuses. Many Iranian student organizations hold annual Norooz shows, such as that of the Iranian Student Cultural and Aesthetic Organization at UC Davis.
At San Francisco State University, the Iranian Cultural Club will host their annual Norooz event on campus, featuring a performance by Niosha Dance Academy and a special fashion show by Masih Designs. All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit Persian studies at SFSU.
The Iranian Student's Cultural Organization (ISCO) at UC Berkeley will hold their annual Norooz event this year. In addition to co-sponsoring a Chaharshanbeh Soori event with Berkeley's Persian Center, ISCO will host an on-campus Norooz event featuring dance performances, musical ensembles and poetry readings.
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