An Iranian Holiday That’s Perfect for Americans -
By FIROOZEH DUMASMARCH 18, 2017
LOS ANGELES — As a little girl in Iran, I loved Nowruz, the first day of spring, known as the Persian New Year.
Firoozeh Dumas is the author of three books, including “Funny in Farsi.”
A version of this op-ed appears in print on March 19, 2017, on Page SR2 of the New York edition with the headline: Your New Iranian Holiday.
I ate sweets, drank tea and listened to the adults speak of their hope for the new year, which began at the precise moment of the spring equinox.
No one in America cared about the first day of spring.
So America, please find an Iranian and, for a moment, forget about the headlines that divide us.
Even my most morose relatives somehow came to life, revealing a sunnier side of themselves kept dormant during the rest of the year.
The goldfish may have represented life, but to me, they also represented disappointment.
We had no relatives to visit, so Nowruz was withered down to one essential element: calling our relatives in Iran.
Every home also had a haft sin, a colorful display of seven symbolic items meant to bring health, wealth and love.
This most revered moment in the Iranian year meant literally nothing here.
