Festivals and Celebrations

Osorno, Julia (1994). Festivals and Celebrations. London: Islamic Publications.

ISBN: 0948656514 

Nowruz is the Persian New Year that starts on the 21st of March which is the first day of spring. It is celebrated in Iran and many other parts of the world as well such as Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and some parts of Albania. This book is about the preparation of the New Year. It has great illustrations with colorful pictures for children between the ages of 3 and 5. People prepare for the New Year with spring cleaning and new clothing. For Nowruz, it is tradition to set up a “Haft Sin” which is a table full of Persian goods to elaborate the joys of life and family. These goods include apples representing beauty and health, green grass or wheat sprout symbolizing rebirth, vinegar for age and patience, oleaster representing love, coins for wealth and garlic symbolizing medicine. Decorated eggs are displayed out on the table representing each member of the family and fertility as well as a mirror wish displays honesty and cleanliness. Last but not least a bowl of gold fish is laid out on display to represent life. All of these items are believed to bring good luck and prosperity for a New Year. The celebration of Nowruz lasts 13 days. On the 13th day, the tradition states that the family should go out for a picnic and spend time together to remember the good memories of last year and wish for prosperity in the upcoming year. I really enjoyed reading this book because it displayed many beautiful illustrations and described in great detail the diversity of different cultures celebrating a New Year in unique and original ways.

3 Ways of Presenting the Story

-Use a felt board to create colorful pieces of the seven symbols used for the Haft Sin.

- Read the story out loud and discuss with children what each symbol represents.

- Use a story basket: Have a basket filled with the Haft Sin items such as the apples, eggs, coins, garlic, mirror, vinegar and oleastar. Pass them around so the children can experience a more hands on way of understanding the story.

3 possible extensions

-Before I introduce the book to the children, I will set up the Haft Sin table as a provocation allowing children to observe and understand the meaning behind the symbolic goods displayed out on the table.

-I could create a world map displaying the countries around the world which celebrate Nowruz. 

-We could keep the gold fish as a pet after the celebration allowing the children to take part in the responsibility of the fish’s well being.