Todaynis the thirteenth day of the Persian new year, which means it’snNature Day!
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nInnIran (formerly called Persia), schools are off today so that familiesncan spend the day outdoors, eating picnics and playing games. It isnthe last day of the two-week-long New Year (Nowruz)ncelebration, and it is a fun and relaxing way to end the holidaynperiod.
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It’snsupposed to be a good day to ask for rain and to make wishes for thenfuture. Girls and boys tie a knot with grass and make wishes; whennthey unknot the grass again, it is supposed to “open up” theirnluck and make their wish come true. Another fun tradition that is annod to old superstitions is throwing away the Sabzeh,nthe sprouts planted for the Nowruzntable’s centerpiece.nThe Sabzehnisntossed intona stream if possible; its disposal is supposed to get rid of bad lucknand ensure only good luck in the coming year.
It’snsupposed to be a good day to ask for rain and to make wishes for thenfuture. Girls and boys tie a knot with grass and make wishes; whennthey unknot the grass again, it is supposed to “open up” theirnluck and make their wish come true. Another fun tradition that is annod to old superstitions is throwing away the Sabzeh,nthe sprouts planted for the Nowruzntable’s centerpiece.nThe Sabzehnisntossed intona stream if possible; its disposal is supposed to get rid of bad lucknand ensure only good luck in the coming year.n
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nBynthe way…
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nInstruggled with looking up the name of the holiday, the name of thengarden of sprouts, and the name of the New Year. Persian (also knownnas Farsi) is written in Persian script, which is based on Arabicnscript. People who transcribe words from one alphabet to anothernoften use different spellings to express the sounds. For example, Inran into many spellings for the New Year such as Nowruz,nNoruz, NowRooz, No-Rooz.nFarsi Net has four different spellings on the same page: Nowrooz,nNoRuz,nNownRuz,nand NoRooz. Wikipedia lists 23 variants!
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nToncelebrate the day…
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Nothingncould be easier, if you are lucky enough to have good weather today,nto celebrate Nature Day the Persian way: Go outside, play outdoorngames, and have a picnic!
Nothingncould be easier, if you are lucky enough to have good weather today,nto celebrate Nature Day the Persian way: Go outside, play outdoorngames, and have a picnic!n
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nAlson on this date:
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nPeanut Butter and Jelly Day
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nTater Day
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nInternationalnChildren’s Book Day
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nBirthdaynof children’s author Hans Christian Andersen
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