These days, in celebration of Norooz, one notices so much commotion, as it has always been the case. Iranians living abroad plan their new year by whose house or restaurant or cabaret to attend for celebration. Those living in Iran, if young, plan how to perform Chahar Shanbeh Soori (last Tuesday night celebration before the end of the year), in order to avoid the establishment’s confrontation. Older ones are busy, as usual, in providing for the festivities. House cleaning is in order as well. Some would like to know about the origination of Norooz, especially that Norooz was recognized this year as a national Iranian holiday by the UN.
On the internet, there are blogs questioning whether Norooz is an Iranian tradition, or it belongs to an older periods. We should first investigate the distinction between Persians and Iranians? Some Iranians in the US have the tendency of calling themselves Persians, instead of Iranians. Let’s explain this with an example. Someone who just met me asked about my nationality. I responded that I was Persian. Having some knowledge of the preference, he asked with a sarcastic grin if I meant that I was an Iranian. I insisted that I was Persian. He asked for the difference between the two. I responded by asking him some questions. I asked him about the first thing that was in his mind when one uttered the word "Persian". He replied: 'Persian cat'. I asked him to recount everything else that the word Persian implied to him. He said: 'Persian carpet, Persian room, Persian empire, Persian miniature, Persian Gulf, Persian poets, Persian ruins, and Persian handicrafts'. Then I asked him to explain what were the first and foremost he thought of when he heard the remark "Iranian". He said: 'Iranian revolution, Iranian mullahs, nuclear energy, Islam, terrorism, the war with Iraq, torture, Basiji, bloody uprising,...' I stopped him: 'that is enough! Just think of your answers and then you would realize why I called myself "Persian" instead of "Iranian"’! Historically, a nation was limited to the boundaries of the place a person lived. For instance, during the Persian Empire and when Cyrus was ruling, if one asked a person who lived in today's Sistan (a city in south-east of Iran, which was called Derangiana in the ancient time) where that person lived, the answer would have been Derangiana, instead of Iran or Persia. On the other hand, people outside of the empire would refer to the empire as "the land ruled by Cyrus, or Persians (referring to the ruler’s tribe)". Rulers would call their country whatever their race or tribe was called, as well. For instance Persepolis was the name referred to the land ruled by the last Achaemenid emperor (Darius) when Alexander attacked this land. Persepolis means Persian (Perse) city (polis). People who lived within this boundary had been called Persians, for centuries. During the ruling of Reza Shah, for the reasons that requires a separate article, the name was changed from Persia to Iran. Therefore, Norooz can be called either a Persian or an Iranian celebration. However, the origination of this celebration may go back to pre-Zoroastrian period, before the tribe called Arians moved down from South Russia to Iranian plateau. According to this explanation, Norooz could be neither a Persian nor an Iranian celebration! Although Norooz is the only celebration that coincides with the beginning of spring, its similarities with other celebrations such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter (tree, colored eggs and egg hunting, sweets, picnic, and others) implies that all these celebrations share the same root (some believe that Christian celebrations were adopted from Mithraism which could be traced back to Iranian plateau as well). More information about Norooz, Chahar Shanbeh Soori, and Sizdah Bedar (a picnic on the thirteenth day after Norooz) is abundant in the internet and other media. Some are as follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nowruz, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ItwInRTVs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPfSTBZxTMc, http://english-learners.com/tag/what-people-do-is-chahar-shanbeh-soori
Nooroz is celebrated in several countries. Islamic Republic has been trying to eliminate this festival unsuccessfully. It has been tried many times during the past 25 centuries to eliminate this and other ancient celebrations once a new tribe attacked the land. One aggression that changed culture of Iranians the most, Arab invasion, also destroyed many of the celebrations Iranians observed, alas it was not able to abolish Norooz. Some assaults on Norooz made Iranians stronger in observing this and other cheerful celebrations, namely the current regime's struggle in getting rid of everything ancient. Norooz brings with itself happiness, health, and peace. If we live with the three Zoroaster's slogans (Good Thought, Good Word, and Good Deed), we will achieve the utopia we have been looking for. Happy Norooz!