Traditionally, spring is the start of better weather, baseball season, picnics and a countdown to summer.
But for Iranians, the first day of spring is also the beginning of celebrations for the Persian New Year, or “Norooz.”
According to the Persian Student Cultural Club at Boston University’s website,Norooz dates back 15,000 years, before the end of the last ice age. The holiday began with the spring equinox at 1:32 p.m. on Saturday, and will last for another month.
Activities celebrating Norooz include setting up a “Haft Seen” table with seven important foods beginning with “s” in Farsi that symbolize the New Year, and also observing “Chaharshanbe Suri,” a day when people jump over fire to get rid of their sins from the past year.
To commemorate the New Year and unite Iranian students at BU, the PSCC is hosting a Norooz Spring Festival at BU Central on Saturday.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Hedieh Mehrtash, who plans on attending the festival, said it’s important to celebrate because it is a vital part of the Persian culture.
“As an international student from Dubai, I think it’s important to celebrate it all around the world in order to appreciate how important the Persian culture is,” she said.
Mehrtash celebrated at BU by attending the Iranian Association of Boston Norooz events and creating her own mini Haft Seen table in her dorm room.
IAB hosts a series of events in honor of the New Year so Iranian community members can gather.
On Friday, the organization held a concert featuring Iranian performers Farshid Amin and Tara Aftab Dance Ensemble at the Sheraton Boston in Copley Place.
“It was a chance for everyone in the city to come together and celebrate,” Mehrtash said.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Persian Students Association screened the Iranian film about the Persian New Year called “The White Balloon,” as part of their festivities on Saturday.
BU students who celebrate the New Year say they are looking forward to the month’s festivities.
“The Persian New Year is significant to me because it’s a family-oriented holiday, a time to gather everyone together in one room,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Parissa Salimian.
In the past, Salimian celebrated the holiday with her family in her hometown and at a Stanford University alumni celebration. This year, however, she says it’s harder to celebrate because she is not at home.
“In college, there’s no family aspect which really subtracts from the point of Norooz,” she said. “All I can really do is make a few phone calls, making it the only time of the year when I’d rather be at home.”
CAS freshman LeiliZarringhalam says she loves the Persian New Year because it brings her together with friends and family.
“Persian New Year is one of the most exciting days of the year for my family,” she said. “It’s one of the few times we bring our entire extended family together for celebration around a table filled with Persian delicacies and excitement for the New Year.
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