NOWRUZ IS OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY! My name is Arman. I m twelve. I am Iranian, but my family and I live in the United States. My parents moved here a long time ago when they were students at the University of Georgia. I was born here. I guess that makes me Iranian-American. My sister s name is Ester. She is ten. Today I want to tell you about celebrating Nowruz. That is our favorite holiday. Nowruz is an old Persian holiday. It is celebrated all over the world. It is a New Year s celebration. The Persian New Year starts when spring starts, on the vernal equinox. So that s when we celebrate Nowruz. The Nowruz season lasts thirteen days. The first and last days are the most important days. On the first day, we welcome the New Year. On the last day, we throw away all the bad luck of the old year. In some countries, children don t have to go to school for two weeks during the Nowruz season. Unfortunately for me, the USA isn t one of those countries. There are some Nowruz traditions I want to tell you about. They are: visiting people, jumping over fires, the table of the seven S s, and fortunetelling. There are many more traditions, but these are my favorites. The haft-seen table is the most important Nowruz symbol. Haft is the Persian word for seven, and seen is the word for the letter S. The haft-seen table is the table of the seven S s. Before Nowruz, families put a special tablecloth on a table. Then they put seven things that begin with the letter S on the table. There are seven special things. Apples, for example. Apples are called seeb. They mean health. Each family has other things it also puts onto the table. It depends on the family tradition. Each thing has a special meaning. Some people put the Qu ran on the table, if they are Moslems. Some people put a mirror on the table. A mirror means they are reflecting on the old year. When the haftseen table is finished, my sister and I get excited. We know Nowruz will be here soon. Visiting people in the Nowruz season is my favorite tradition. It is nice to have an excuse to take the time and visit all our friends and relatives. We say, Sal-e No Mobarak! That is Persian for Happy New Year! I like to play with my cousins while my parents talk with my aunts and uncles. Sometimes there is food when we visit people. Sometimes we are given small gifts, like coins.
Name Date Ester s favorite Nowruz tradition is fire-jumping. Where my parents come from, people build large bonfires in the street on the first day of Nowruz. Then they jump over them. This tradition is called Chahar Shanbe Suri in Persian. People say that when you jump over the fire, it burns away all the bad things that happened in the past year. Of course, our mother doesn t let us build a big bonfire in the street. We would get in trouble. So my father makes a small fire in our back yard and we jump over that. Fire jumping is one old tradition my mother wishes we did not know about, but she tolerates it. All the neighbor kids visit us for Nowruz and jump over the fire with us. Okay, I m almost finished. I wanted to tell you about fortune-telling. Will the New Year be good or bad? What will it bring? Do you wonder about that? Will your wishes come true? Will people be kind and helpful? According to Nowruz traditions, there are ways to find out. One way is to tie a knot in your shirt tail or a handkerchief. Then you ask the first stranger you meet on the street to untie it for you. If they do, it means people will be helpful to you in the coming year and your problems will be solved. Another fortune-telling tradition is called fal-gosh. First you ask a question. Then you hide where people can t see you. You can hide in a dark corner or behind a wall. Then you wait for strangers to walk past, talking. Listen to what they say, because that is the answer to your question. This is fun! Sometimes, what people say is a good answer to your question. Sometimes, it is hard to figure out what it means. For example, maybe your question is, Will I get good grades in the New Year? Imagine two people walk past. One says, you re such a smart person, to their friend. That s easy to figure out. You are smart. You will get good grades. But what if they say, I sure like fish? What kind of answer is that to the question? Sometimes you really have to think to find a connection. Fish is good for the brain. Some people say eating fish makes you smart. If you are smart, you get good grades. So there is your answer. Father says that it is all a matter of interpretation. There are many more Nowruz traditions. Some are the same in every country. Some vary by country or even by family. But these are my favorites. Sal-e No Mobarak!
Name Date ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT NOWRUZ IS OUR FAVORITE... 1. Where are Arman and Ester s parents from? a. Iran b. The USA c. Canada d. Europe 2. What does Nowruz celebrate? a. Winter b. Summer c. The New Year d. All of the above 3. What does Sal-e No Mobarak! mean? a. Good luck! b. Happy New Year! c. Happy Birthday! d. Good-bye! 4. What is the table of the seven S s? a. A Nowruz tradition and symbol b. A place to eat c. The name of a Persian restaurant d. A gift shop 5. What is fal-gosh? a. Arman s favorite food b. A sweet pudding c. The start of the New Year d. A kind of fortune-telling 6. How long does the Nowruz season last? a. One day b. One week c. Thirteen days d. Thirteen weeks
Name Date ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT NOWRUZ IS OUR FAVORITE... 1. What does tolerate mean? 2. Which Nowruz tradition do you think would be your favorite? 3. How would you describe Arman and Ester s personalities? 4. Why do you think so many cultures have holidays that celebrate the New Year?
Name Date Answers to NOWRUZ IS OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY Multiple-choice 1. a 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. d 6. c Short-response 1. tolerate = accept, put up with, endure 2. Answers will vary; accept reasonable answers. 3. Answers will vary; accept reasonable answers. 4. Answers will vary; accept reasonable answers.