Sweet Like Candy: No-Rooz, The Iranian New Year

On 19 April 2014, the Iranian Student Association of Lappeenranta University of Technology organized the Iranian New Year party. The event is held to celebrate the Iranian New Years which called No-Rooz. Unlike the regular new year which we celebrated in 1 January every year, in Iranian culture the No-Rooz marks the beginning of the Spring season. So the date is changed every year depending on the astronomy. No-Rooz ritual and tradition has been celebrated since 3000 years ago by the Iranian people.

The No-Rooz rituals include clean the house, buy new clothes, and set the Haft Seen. Haft Seen is seven specific items that starts with letter S and symbolize the holy sacred things that important in life such as, health, beauty, growth, etc. These seven are: Seeb (apple), Sabze (green grass), Serke (vinager), Samanoo (a meal made out of wheat), Senjed (a special kind of berry), Sekke (coin), and Seer (garlic). Sometimes instead of Serke they put Somagh (sumak, an Iranian spice).

In New Year, people will go outside their house to hug and kiss each other and wish a happy new year. Then they give presents, usually older ones to the younger ones. And then, they also visit older members of the family, relatives and friends.

The important event of the New Year is the 13th day of the new year, which is called "Sizdah Bedar". People spent this day mostly outdoors. They go to the parks or local plains to have a festive picnic. The Sizdah Bedar is the most popular day of the holidays among children because this is the time when they get to play a lot. According to Iranians culture,the 13th day is a bad omen and therefore they believe that by going into the fields and parks they will avoid misfortunes. It is also believed that unmarried girls can wish for a charming husband by going into the fields and tying a knot between green shoots, symbolizing a marital bond.