Mar 21

The Iranian Nowruz and the Course It Has Taken

Cyrus the Great Nowruz and its rich customs have paved a 3000 years old tortuous course till it has reached us. Nowruz (Nowrooz) is the world’s most ancient national tradition, which has become immortal, and is one of the factors of the continuity of Iranian culture. The ceremonies of this most important festival, in the present era, has not made much difference compared to 3000 years ago, and therefore, is an instrument for the cultural unity of the people of Iran Land (territory of the ancient Persian Empire and in the past 5 decades “the Nowruz World”), and which is celebrated and commemorated in the same way everywhere. It is due to this fact that thinkers have called Nowruz as the abiding symbol of the identity of Iranians.     In several documents of historians, including the ‘Tabari History’, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and Biruni’s books, Nowruz has been attributed to Jamshid, the legendary king, and in other works, to Kiomarth (kiumarz), and, because of its being the first day of spring (March 19 or 20th or 21st), when day and night become equal, and the sun starts shining again and nature’s equinox, it is considered as the best day of the year.     Cyrus the Great, the founder of a united Iran, announced Nowruz as an official festival and in 534 BC issued rules for performing governmental ceremonies on that day, which included promotion of the army officers, notification of new elections, presiding over parades, amnesty for repentant criminals, creating green parks and cleaning up the environment – whether houses or public places.     In the Achamenian era (Achaemenids) the first 11 days of Farvardin (Farvartishan) were allocated to Nowruz ceremonies. In the Parthian (Ashkanian) era, Nowruz was celebrated for 5 days, and Ardeshir Papakan added 6th Farvardin to Nowruz, as the birthday of Zarathushtra, and since Iranians thought 7th of Farvardin to be an auspicious day and would celebrate most weddings on that day, from that time Nowruz has been expanded to 7 days. The High Council of Iranian Culture and Education held its first meeting, with the initiation of Mirza Ali Akbar Dehkhoda, on Nowruz of 1301 (1922) and in that meeting discussions were held about Nowruz holidays of schools, which were decided to be for 7 days, as copied from the Sassanids.     In the Nowruz ceremonies of 515 BC Darius the Great announced his reform programs and his wishes, which inscription is existing. Darius the Great     After completion of Takht e Jamshid complex (Persepolis –Parse – Parseh and situated 70 km northeast of the city of Shiraz)) and its inauguration, the official Nowruz ceremonies were held there. The first Nowruz celebrations in Takht e Jamshid lasted for 2 weeks and the public would be entertained in the 100 column hall.     Mehestan (Meh means Great), the Iranian parliament in the Parthian era, held its first meeting on Nowruz of 1763 BC, in the presence of Mithradates I (Mehrdad I), the then Shah, and its first resolution was to make the leadership of Iran (the shah) elective.     On Nowruz AD 501, Mazdak Bamdad, the Zoroastrian priest, announced his socialist ideas and started propagating it.     In AD 934 Mardaviz Ziari (Mazandarani), one of the national heroes of Iran, announced in Isfahan that holding national festivals, especially Nowruz, is a national duty for all Iranians.     In AD 892, Amir Esmail Samani revived Nowruz celebrations as held in the Sassanian era, and which is celebrated up to this day in the Transoxiania region (or Fararood), especially Tajikistan. He had asked the mathematicians of Khorasan to calculate the exact hour, minute and second of the transition to the Iranian New Year ( Nowruz) .     Abdulmajid I, the Ottoman Emperor, who was born on Nowruz (20 March 1725), announced Nowruz as an official festival in the Ottoman territory (now Turkey).     In 1739, after defeating the 360,000-soldier army of India and receiving the king’s crown of this land, Nader Shah waited until Nowruz to enter Delhi.     After declaring Shiraz as the capital of Iran, Karim Khan Zand (representative of the people), from 1761 onwards, held the Nowruz ceremony, every year, in a building which is presently named the Pars Museum, and then went to the streets to visit the common people, and paid musicians from his pocket to play music for the people in city circles and make them happy.     Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar chose Nowruz for his crowning and on the same day announced Tehran as the new capital city of Iran. On Nowruz of 1940 the across-country railway started operating in Iran.      In March 2010, by approving a resolution, the US House Of representatives officially recognized the cultural and historic importance of this most important ancient festival and congratulated Iranians and all people of Iranian origin on occasion of Nowruz (the Nowruz world of 300 million).     In the recent years, many countries, including some the USA states, have recognized Nowruz as the national day of Iranians and this means that an Iranian and anyone of Iranian origin can take leave (with pay) from work on Nowruz. Takht e Jamshid (Persepolis)      Persepolis          Translation by Rowshan Lohrasbpour (AmordadNews writer)