The Persian new year, called Norouz (or Nowrouz)—New Day—is just around the corner and Southern California nights have the sweetly fragrant scent of jasmine and citrus flowers. Last year’s Norouz blog remains my most read post so please visit it for a detailed account of Haft-seen and some great pictures.
Tulips don’t know much about the financial crisis and narcissi couldn’t care less about job layoffs; they come out with their effortless beauty, reminding us that nature renews its vows with life every spring.
Before 1564, most of Europe celebrated the New Year with the first day of Spring.
The Gregorian calendar changed that to January first. To me, it is only natural to start the year with the first day of spring and not in the dead of winter…
“Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling,
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturb’d,
Give me to warble spontaneous songs recluse by myself, for my own ears only,
Give me solitude—give me Nature—give me again, O Nature, your primal sanities! Walt Witman
The Norouz celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zorastrianism. March 21st will be the first day of spring, the first day of the new year. The fragrance of these lemon tree blossoms reminds me of a Norouz I spent in Shiraz years ago…
This poem of Fereydoon Moshiri always makes me smile…
بوی باران، بوی سبزه، بوی خاک
شاخه های شسته، باران خورده، پاک
آسمان آبی و ابر سپید
برگ های سبز بید
عطر نرگس، رقص باد
نغمه شوق پرستوهای شاد
خلوت گرم کبوترهای مست …
نرم نرمک می رسد اینک بهار
خوش به حال روزگار
خوش به حال چشمه ها و دشت ها
خوش به حال دانه ها و سبزه ها
خوش به حال غنچه های نیمه باز
خوش به حال دختر میخک – که می خندد به ناز –
خوش به حال جام لبریز از شراب
خوش به حال آفتاب
Would it be the dawn of 1388 or 2547 like some purist Persians suggest? It’s surreal to see this anachronistic image of the late shah’s crown in the middle of Santa Monica boulevard wishing you a happy new year in Persian!
I just can not resist sharing these beautiful flowers with you:
This is a celebration of Life.
It is time to recalibrate our priorities and do some spring cleaning. Just look at the beautiful baby green of this Hydrangea:
The hyacinths (sonbol) or the quintessential Norouz flower:
I wouldn’t dare translating this beautiful Rumi poem about Norouz:
اندر دل من مها دل افروز توئي
ياران هستند ليك دلسوز توئي
شادند جهانيان به نوروز و به عيد
عيد من و نوروز من امروز توئي
Don’t forget to visit my last year’s Norouz post.
Norouz Pirouz!
سال پر برکتی برای خودت و خانواده ات آرزو می کنم میشل جان
Dear Michele:
What a lovely greeting post. Nice as always.
Well I had dared and translated the Rumi’s poem on Norooz herewith I share with you and your readers.
May this be a prosperous new year to you all
Love and live
Mehrdad
In my heart you are the mirthful ray,
You are the caring, though my companions they.
Happy is the world with the Norooz and with the Eid.
You are both my Eid and my Norooz today.
Dear Michele..
Spectacular Photographs !!
Wishing you Happy Nurouz & We share your Joy for the season..with poem of relentless joy by Italian poet Guittone d’Arezzo (1230-1294)
Whenever I say “joy,” you thing of joy,
you will understand that I speak of you,
for you are a joy of joyful beauty and a joy of joyful and fair pleasure;
and joy in which a joyful future is,
joy from your beauties, joy from your slim body, joy in which so much loving joy is seen that it is a joyful joy to wonder at it.
Joy of will and joy of thought, and joy of speech and joy of making joy and joy of every movement full of joy.
So I, my joyful joy, am so unsettled by you that I never feel joy unless my heart is quieted in your joy.
–
What beautiful pictures. And what an ending with the fish sealing it with a kiss. Eidet kheily mobarak. Glorious spring hurry to the east coast please. We are freezing. . .
Amiga,
What a beautiful post about Norouz. Beautiful pictures that make me travel with them. As you said, Norouz is time for reflections, time to start again like Spring does… with a new mind, a new aptitude maybe. When I see those beautiful flowers,I think that it has been necessary for their seeds fall to the ground and die to produce such a beauty… Sometimes that is necessary to our life too. HAPPY NOROUZ!!
I love this last image of the goldfish, they are hard to capture and here they look like they are having a social gathering. The pansies to are great looking in all that green. We in the Southwest still have potential of freeze through mid-May! Yet, everything is pushing and prodding and trying to see the light of day.
I would have liked to read the poem.. Unfortunatelly I can’t, but I enjoy to look at the characters as they look always as drawings for me, and always so mysterious.
Anyway, I wish you a very nice day and year, and I came back to last year’s post, and I remember it liked it very well.
I want also to compliment you a lot for the flowers !!!! I have a special tenderness for Ranonculus and anemones (some will bloom in my garden soon).
Lots of sincere wishes.
Thank you for the beautiful shots of nature renewing itself. My favorite part of Norooz is just that – renewal. I also like how everyone regardless of their economic status do their best to participate.
What a dumb idea to put up that billboard on SM Blvd. Although I have no idea who put it up, of all the images they could have used to promote Norooz, to choose the ultimate symbol of a defunct monarchy is plain stupid.
Eide Hame Mobarak.
Beautiful pictures, beautiful message to the world and a very beautiful norooz to you and all who wish for a brighter new day! Norooz hamegee peerouz!
Dear Michele,
Bonjour et beau Printemps! Nauroze Mubarak!
Oh it so beautiful that one has to just submit to the beauty of this post. You have an incredible insight into life to be able to connect Shah’s Crown, Hyacinths of Naurose and Walt Whitman, all in one blog.
Please offer a translation of the Persian Poems.
Nimesh
You have created a ve’lib for all to visit you, ponder, share, engage, and appreciate a small of many beauties of life.
I wish you the best of seasons.
Beautiful insecurity …