Nowruz 1389: It’s a Green Green world

First day of  Spring  2010 is the beginning of the Persian New Year of 1389—Happy Nowruz everybody!

sabzeh wheat sprouts michele roohani nowruz norooz

In previous years, I have talked a lot about Haft Seen (seven S’s on the new year’s spread) and the calendar; for this year, I decided to tell you which of the seven really symbolize Nowruz for me. One is Sabzeh or wheat sprouts (above) and the other is Sonbol, the hyacinth (below):

spring norooz michele roohani jacinthe hyacinth nowruz

I am still in Los Angeles and the Wilshire Corridor is awash in Nowruz banners like this one:

nowruz wilshire corridor farhang banner michele roohani

My little sabzeh looks lonely among downtown high-rises:

downtown los angeles sabzeh nowruz michele roohani

Being close to the L.A.’s flower market, I left to take pictures early morning and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the fragrance of these gorgeous stocks,

giroflée stock flower michele roohani los angeles flower market

and the beautiful tulips that scream “spring is here” in so many colors:

tulips happy nowruz michele roohani spring norouz

I bought as much as I could carry and rushed home to take pictures.

sabzeh hyacinth norouz michele roohani marina del rey

As a child, I remember listening to the Iranian singer, Pouran Shapouri, sing Eyd oumad bahaar oumad…

pouran shahpouri iranian singer jadidonline michele roohani

in our new Eyd dresses (new year’s dress) that my mom had made for my sister and I.

new year nowruz dresses michele roohani iris and ivy

Vigen’s song, Shokoufeh (blossom), was another of my favorites as the harbinger of Nowruz.

cherry blossoms shokoufeh michele roohani spring

 يكي دو روز ديگر از پگاه
چو چشم باز مي‌كني
زمانه زير و رو
زمينه پرنگار مي شود

 

زمين شكاف مي‌خورد
به دشت سبزه مي‌زند
هر آن چه مانده بود زير خاك
هر آنچه خفته بود زير برف

جوان و شسته رفته آشكار مي‌شود

نگار من
اميد نوبهار من
لبي به خنده باز كن
ببين چگونه از گلي
خزان باغ ما بهار مي‌شود

 سیاوش کسرایی

 Sabzeh shows up in the new year celebrations in many countries:

michele roohani sabzeh nowruz Kyrgyzstan tajikistan

Let’s not forget my favorite, the goldfish:

nowruz goldfish michele roohani haft seen

Goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of the month of Esfand (pisces).

nowruz 1389 michele roohani hyacinths norouz norooz

for more on the traditions of Nowrouz: NoRuz, Norouz, haft-seen, haft-sheen, etc…

Norouz 1388, the blooming of a new year
Pouran singing about Eyd

a great slide show of  Nowruz gold fish farms