Iranian New Year or Nowruz

The Iranian New Year starts on March 21 or the first day of Farvardin - (the first day of spring) with great pomp and festival. The festival begins with the change of the year and continues for several days. From ancient times since during the New Year the people get rid of the hardships of cold winter and the year starts with mild spring and birth of nature the people celebrate the event on a national level. When the new year downs the people wear their new dresses and gather in front of the Haft Seen table (in which seven types of foods are served) and congratulate each other for the start of the new year by praying and eating sweat meats.

Haft-Seen is composed of seven items starting with the Persian letter 'S" consisting of apple, hyacinth, vinegar, gold coin, garlic, porphyry and oleaster as well as a mirror, a chandelier, the holy Quran and sweetmeat, and blossomed wheat.
Before the dawn of the New Year, the people start to clean their house, change their older furniture and after the start of the New Year they visit each other to congratulate the national festival and give a gift to the children. On the 13th day of the New Year, known as Sizdabedar the people go to orchards and gardens outside the town for a picnic.
Another beautiful Iranian tradition is the Yalda festival which is the longest night of the year and the beginning of winter. On that particular night, family members assemble in the house of the most senior member of the family and chat and recite poems of Hafez and eat dried fruits and nuts, watermelon, etc. Of course, Yalda night was celebrated in ancient to prepare for the winter and cold and help the family members. Another feast is the charshanbesoori festival, the last Wednesday of the year, in which the people build fire and play bonfire.