“This year Nowruz is very tough for Iranians specially,” says Davood, 47, who has been living in Australia since 2007. Nowruz, also known as Persian New Year, comes at a time of uncertainty for the world and for a lot of Iranians as the country fights against the outbreak of coronavirus.
“The coronavirus outbreak, it’s a very sad story for the Iranian society.”
Iran has one of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus outside of China with over 17,000 confirmed cases. As the country continues to fight against COVID-19, President Hassan Rouhani has urged the public to stay at home during the Nowruz holidays, according to a report by Islamic Azad University News Agency in Iran.
Nowruz, which means ‘new day’ in Persian occurs on 21st March every year and it marks the first day of spring in Iran and surrounding countries.
According to the United Nations, Nowruz is celebrated by more “than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.”
In 2009 Nowruz was included on the list of the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The purpose of this list is to protect customs around the globe.
Nowruz celebration In Iran includes a two-week public holiday visiting friends and families to wish them well. Normally, this involves travel to different cities.
Davood describes his experience of Nowruz when he lived in Iran as “a similar kind of experience to Christmas,” in Australia.
Iranians buy green sprouts for Nowruz, the Persian new year celebrations, at Tajrish square market in Tehran on March 20, 2014. Source: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images)
Since arriving in Australia with his family over ten years ago, Davood has celebrated Nowruz every year. “It is important for the kids who are living here, in Australia to know a little bit of their culture and know where it is coming from,” says Rose Davood’s wife.
For Davood and his family, Nowruz celebrations in Australia don’t run to the extent of that in Iran. The family will set up a ‘Haftseen’, which is a table set out with seven items that start with the letter “S” in Persian. Each item has a meaning: for example the word ‘Sekeh’ in Persian means coin in English and symbolises wealth and prosperity in the context of Haftseen. They’re also planning to visit a Persian restaurant in Sydney, and depending on the coronavirus situation, their celebration would also include a dinner at a friend’s house.
According to the 2016 census, nearly half (49 per cent) of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was. Nowruz in Australia coincides with Harmony Day and Harmony Week, which is dedicated to celebrating cultural diversity in Australia.
“The coincidence of Nowruz and Harmony Day is... amazing,” says Davood. “ Instead of visiting our family members [as we did in Iran] we can go and see people from other nations… you are missing out on Nowruz back in Iran but you can at least try different food, you can know more about other cultures, you can see their dance and you can listen to their music.”
Harmony Day events had been scheduled across the country, with some now under review due to the latest government directions on the assembling of crowds in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Nevertheless, several schools have found innovative ways to celebrate the occasion.
In terms of Davood’s wish for the new year ahead the best thing he can think of is “for the Iranian nation to come out of the coronavirus [outbreak].”
