Dove Of Peace

May the new year Bring you happiness and peace
And the strength and courage
To follow your dreams.
May you forget the weight
Of yesterday
And focus on the path ahead,
Guided by your heart And the light of hope.
May you find beauty in every things
And goodness , in every heart.
And may you always remember.
That you are blessed

Nowrouz, The Feast of Celebrating Human Knowledge, Iranian oral tradition takes Norouz as far back as 25,000 years ago, before the last ice age.

The first day on the Iranian calendar falls on the spring equinox, the first day of spring. At the time of the equinox, the sun is observed to be directly over the equator, and the north and south poles of the Earth lie along the solar terminator; sunlight is evenly divided between the north and south hemispheres.

Today the Earth enters the spring equinox and Iranians all over the world, irrespective of their religious creed or ethnicity, celebrate Norouz which last 13 days according to the millennia-old Iranian tradition. For Iranian peoples Norouz which literally means the dawn of a new day is considered to be the most important celebration of the year; it is the greatest symbol of Iranian cultural and national identity, which has outlived all adversities and adversaries.

Nowrūz (Persian: نوروز) is the traditional Iranian new year, holiday celebrated in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Albania, Bahrain, Armenia, Georgia, the countries of Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, as well as among various other Iranian and Turkic peoples in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Northwestern China, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Balkans.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian year as well as the beginning of the Bahá’í year. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox (start of spring in northern hemisphere), which usually occurs on the March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.As well as being a Zoroastrian holiday, it is also a holy day for adherents of Sufism as well as Bahá’í Faith. In Iran it is also referred to as an Eid festival, although it is not an Islamic feast. Alawites also celebrate Nowruz.

The term Norooz first appeared in Persian records in the second century AD, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (c. 648-330 BC), where kings from different nations under the Persian empire used to bring gifts to the emperor (Shahanshah) of Persia on Nowruz.

The Haft Sīn items are:

• sabzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth
• samanu – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence
• senjed – the dried fruit of the oleaster tree – symbolizing love
• sīr – garlic – symbolizing medicine sīb – apples – symbolizing beauty and health
• somaq – sumac berries – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
• serkeh – vinegar – symbolizing age and patience

• Other items on the table may include:
  Sonbol – Hyacinth (plant)
• Sekkeh – Coins – representative of wealth

traditional Iranian pastries such as baghlava, toot, naan-nokhodchi

• Aajeel – dried nuts, berries and raisins lit candles (enlightenment and happiness)
• a mirror (symbolizing cleanness and honesty)
• decorated eggs, sometimes one for each member of the family (fertility)
• a bowl of water with goldfish (life within life, and the sign of Pisces which the sun is leaving)
• the national colours, for a patriotic touch
• a holy book (e.g., the Avesta, Qur’an, Bible, Torah, or Kitáb-i-Aqdas) and/or a poetry book (almost always either the Shahnama or the Divan of Hafez)