NOWRUZ is a primitive traditional ritual in Iranian culture that dates back thousands of years. Despite being this old and ancient, the dust of oblivion and obsolescence has not settled on its face and it is still a messenger of happiness, freshness and revitalisation. The mystery of the longevity and the eternity of Nowruz throughout history is in this very message of happiness and revitalisation, which is intertwined with the human spirit and nature and has kept this glorious tradition and ritual alive till date.

Nowruz is the beginning of the spring and the revival of nature. Since freshness and enjoyment have a natural attraction in human features, the spring and its nature have become an inspirational resource of joy and revival for humans. Accordingly, the beauty and charm of Nowruz and the arrival of the spring have always been appreciated and welcomed by Iranians and have left a prominent mark on the Persian culture, poetry and literature.

The message and inspiration of Nowruz from different directions and aspects have been the subject of attention of the great and famous people in the history of the Persian literature, and it can be said that all the Persian-speaking poets and writers have reflected and interpreted the message and inspiration of Nowruz and the beginning of the spring in their writings and poems.

In the story of Siavash in the Shahnameh, the great and famous poet of Tus, Hakim Ferdowsi wrote:

May your luck be victorious in every moment of the year,

And your days be joyous like Nowruz

In this statement, in the form of a wish, Nowruz has been used as a symbol of good fortune and happiness extended to all the days of the year and a person’s life, and it has been used as an allegory to wish happiness for others.

Sheikh Saadi Shirazi, one of the most notable poets of the Persian literature, also looked at Nowruz from this point of view and said:

The morning wind rise with the smell of Nowruz

May it bring victorious fortune to my friends

May you be blessed this year and every year

May you be blessed this day and every day.

In these verses, Sheikh Saadi, along with the greetings and happiness of Nowruz, wished that may all days be filled with the same bliss and joy like Nowruz for people. In fact, in these verses, Saadi’s view of Nowruz is similar to Ferdowsi’s and this day, as an auspicious and blessed day, has become a wish for all the days of a person’s life.

In Diwan-e Shams, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi has an epistemological and theological view of Nowruz and considers Nowruz as a sign of God’s verses — in fact, a sign of God’s existence. In his poems, which started with the line — drunkenness, love, youth and our friends | that comes with the new days of Spring and Aries, he acknowledges that the season of the spring and the revival of nature is from the Almighty and says:

The basil and the tulips shaping as bowls

from whom is this gift but from God

In the continuation of this poem, he says in another verse:

Hyacinth whispered in the ear of a flower and said,

May the shadow of God never leave us.

Sheikh Saadi also expressed the same epistemological view of Nowruz in the opening verse of a beautiful ghazal where he considers Nowruz to be created by God of the worlds and says:

My morning rose from the east, the wind of Nowruz came from the right side

My mind and nature were amazed by the creations of the Lord of the worlds

The inspiration of Nowruz and the revival of nature in spring towards the inner renewal of man and learning from this message-giving and meaningful event of nature is beautifully reflected in Hafez Shirazi’s poems. The brightest star of Persian poetry, says in one of his beautiful ghazals:

The pleasant smell of Nowruz breeze is coming from the alley of my friend

If you ask for help from this wind, it will light up your heart

Blow away the dust of sadness in the desert

And come to garden to learn singing from a nightingale

In this poem, Hafez calls man to imitate the rebirth of nature in the spring and invites them to remove the dust of sadness from themselves, like nature, and light the bright lamp in their heart and soul.

In Amir Khosrow Dehlavi’s poem, too, Nowruz is the reason and excuse for refreshing and cleaning the heart, just as with the arrival of Nowruz and the beginning of Spring, nature cleans itself and finds a new life. Humans should also be inspired by this meaningful event of nature, let their heart cleanse its interior from the beliefs and things that are against the Creator. He says in beautiful verses:

I have not called anyone’s name but you

I have not stayed with anyone but you

Eid of Nowruz came and I cleaned my house

Removed everyone except you

Among the other messages of Nowruz and the arrival of the spring in Persian poetry and literature, are the promises of the passing of hard and exhausting days, in which winter is an allegory of that, and after every hard and suffering period, happy and joyful days are waiting in a person’s life. For this reason, Nowruz is a messenger of hope for the future and invites people to desire. This understanding and meaning of Nowruz has been beautifully illustrated by Sheikh Saadi Shirazi in the following verses:

Nightingale laments from the parting of Autumn and Spring

I said- ‘don’t be sad’

The days of Nowruz, tulips and basil

will come again.

The meanings and interpretations of Nowruz in the above poetical examples, showcases the inspirations and the depth of the meaning and concept of Nowruz from the view point of the great Persian poets and it displays that Nowruz and the Spring, in addition to the aspect of natural events, also have a theological aspect. And it is one of the signs of God.

To complete this understanding of Nowruz and the Spring season, it should be said that this natural event is also a reminder of the Resurrection, and just as nature revives in the spring after the demising period of winter; man, as a creature created by God, will revive after death and there is no end to that life and that is eternal. The eternality of man is what gives meaning to the creation and existence of man and makes his life purposeful.

Some of the customs that are common in Nowruz include cleaning and dusting the house, wearing new clothes, seeing and visiting each other, giving gifts and feasts, etc. Because it strengthens good human relationships and increases friendships and kindness.

Hoping for more such friendship and kindness and wishing to enjoy every day in the light of inspiration from the message of Nowruz.

Seyed Reza Mir Mohammadi is the cultural counsellor at the Embassy of Iran in Dhaka.