This has very little to do with the book itself, and actually, I should be cleaning my place, but I am so excited to be talking about this, since this is a practice I also observe myself.

Nowrūz (نوروز, also nawrūz, nōrouz, nevrûz, etc. < نو nav “new” + روز rōz “day”), the Persian New Year, is celebrated on the Vernal (= Springtime) Equinox, the day when the sun, on its journey back towards the Northern Hemisphere, crosses the equator. The day celebrates the return of Spring, the end of the old year with the retreat of the cold, the first early springtime flower buds, the promise of new life and the triumph of Light and over Darkness.

The rituals and traditions surrounding this day begin one month before Nowrūz and go on for thirteen days thereafter. I cannot speak to others’ practices, but what I traditionally do myself, is:

• Khāna takānī (خانه‌تکانی, lit.: “house-shaking”): Deeper than a mere spring cleaning, this time of preparation requires the household to shake of the sleepiness, retreat, and stagnation of wintertime. Everything is cleaned and cleansed, anything that is broken or in need of repair is mended. Grubby walls? Give it a fresh coat of paint. Unused stuff languishing in your kitchen cabinet? Make use and clear everything out. Wash the carpets, wash throw pillows, clean anything and everything you can possibly clean. Prepare the house to be a welcoming place for warmth, light, and laughter.

• Preparation of Sabza (سبزه, lit.: “greenery”): Around two weeks before Nowrūz, start the process of sprouting of grains and pulses in a dish, allowing them to grow a good 20–30 cm, so a red ribbon can be tied around the base before becoming the centrepiece of the Sofra-ye Haft Sīn (سفرهٔ هفت سین, lit.: “Banquet of Seven ‹S›”), as a symbol of new life and abundance taking root in the world.

• Čahāršanba Sūri (چهار‌شنبه‌سوری, lit.: “Scarlet-Wednesday”): The eve of the Wednesday before Nowrūz, gather friends, family, neighbours, and create a bonfire, over which one jumps thrice, reciting < زردئ من از تو، سرخئ تو از من zardiyé man az tō, sorkhiyé tō az man (“My fallowness to thee, thy redness to me”)

In doing this, our aim is to receive strength and power from the fire, giving it in turn our sickliness and weakness accumulated from the cold season. Eat salty-and-sweet nuts and dried berries, which have the power to grant wishes on this night. On the day of the Wednesday, visit the grave of your loved ones and share coffee with them, then wash up and go trick-or-treating to friends and neighbours. No fighting on this day, for however you enter the day and live through it, thus will your new year unfold.

• Prepare the Sofra-ye Haft Sīn: Mostly with items beginning with the letter ‹S› and ‹Š›, create a lovely spread of flowers, food and symbolic items of the season, these being: – Sabza (سبزه, sprouted greenery for new life) – Senjed (سنجد, silver berries representing life force) – Serka (سرکه, vinegar for patience) – Somāq (سماق, sumac representing the taste of life) – Sīr (سیر, garlic for protection) – Samanou (سمنو, sprouted, malted and cooked wheat pudding representing abundance and blessings) – Sēb (سیب, apple for beauty and vitality) – Sonbol (سنبل, hyacinth for friendship and its beautiful smell) – Sekka (سکه, coins for wealth) – Šam‘ (شمع, candle for warmth and fire) – Šīrīnī (شیرینی, sweets for sweetness) – Nargis (نرگس, narcissus as a symbol of the sun, and for its beauty) – Āyina (آیینه, mirror for honesty and transparency) – Kitāb (کتاب, a holy book – usually the Diwān-e Hāfiz or the Shāhnāma, or even the Avesta, for wisdom and for divinatory purposes)

• Nowrūz: On the exact time of the Sun’s crossing of the equator, cast off your old clothes and step into new clothes, so you greet the New Day equally new. Stay up all night to greet the Sunrise, if you can. Pro tip: to not greet the New Day in Old Clothes and to avoid waking up at ungodly hours, sleep naked on the Eve of Nowrūz! 😅 Invite friends and loved ones, prepare drinks and food (traditionally, I like to make کوکو سبزی, Kūkū Sabzī, Herby Egg Frittata, with 80% green leafy herbs and veggies, eggs, walnuts, raisins and barberries, powdered rose petals, cinnamon, chilli, and other spices). Read poems to each other, engage in divination by book, sing and dance, be merry and enjoy the budding new year.

• The fortnight after: Visit friends and family whenever you can, starting from the eldest people. Share food leftover from the celebrations.

• Sīzdah Bedar (سیزده بدر, lit.: “13 Outside”): Prepare a picnic, take your loved ones, grab your Sabza, and leave the house for the entire day. The thirteenth day of a month is nefarious, for spirits roam the world in search of people and if they find you at home, they will know your abode. Share a picnic with your household by the river and enjoy nature’s awakening from its cold slumber. Release the Sabza into a moving natural body of water with your wishes, so that it may find the shore, take root and grow strong, just as your wishes will. If you are unmarried in search of a husband, braid a few sprouts together before releasing the Sabza into the river.

After the post-Yuletide crash, Nowrūz is the perfect holiday to rejuvenate one’s spirits. If you have any Turkish, Azeri, Kurdish, Persian, Afghani, etc. friends, I absolutely urge you to get invited to Nowrūz festivities! They are a blast.