Friday Five: The Norooz Edit
Happy New Year! 🌷🧿
Sunday March 20th marks the vernal equinox, the first day of spring, and as I’ve celebrated my entire life, Iranian New Year. We call it Norooz, which literally translates to ‘new day,’ and it comprises a thirteen day celebration that starts a few days early, when we jump over fires to cleanse ourselves of bad vibes and bad energy. This Friday Five will be Norooz themed, accordingly. Happy New Year to all those who celebrate!
I’ll be taking a little break from newsletter writing to celebrate (and rest). See you in April. 🧿
Song: Hayedeh was an OG Iranian Diva. She had the vocal range, teased out hair, and outfits to prove it. She did a take on one of her most popular songs, ‘Shabeh Esgh’ (Night of Love), replacing Love with ‘Eyd’ for the New Year. The song is quite similar to the original and it’s a classic.
Recipe: This video is nearly two years old, but it’s the first recipe video I filmed of my maman (and it shows lol), and it’s for a dish traditionally eaten on Norooz, kuku sabzi. Kuku sabzi is a fresh herb frittata that is incredibly easy to make and one of the best way to use up leftover herbs in your fridge. The vibrant, green dish is symbolic of all the renewal and growth we see in nature at the start of spring.
Household Ritual: The concept of spring cleaning allegedly originated in Iran — my relatives will also tell you chess, sugar, cotton candy, and ice cream cones did as well (just to name a few). As we prepare for the new year, we do deep cleans of our homes, setting a healthy precedent going into a new year. The term for this is called ‘khane takani’ which literally translates to ‘shaking the house.’ Some people wash their carpets, paint their walls, and truly ‘shake’ their house down, but even a quick de-cluttering will help. This newsletter is all about inspiring joy and some cleanliness can certainly help!
Art: This video of iconic Iranian artist Shirin Neshat is both soothing to watch and illuminating. If you aren’t familiar with her work, watch and become an instant fan. Her work is stunning and there’s something very special about hearing it all in her own words.
Poem: Ahmad Shamlu was a legendary Iranian poet, and this translation of his poem “Bright Horizon” is the closest I’ve seen to doing the Farsi version justice. The poem wasn’t written specifically about Norooz but the hope and optimism throughout it is perfect new year/new season energy.
“Bright Horizon”
Some day we will find our doves
Kindness will take Beauty by the hand
That day – the least song will be a kiss
and every human being be brother to
every other human being
That day – house doors will not be shut
Locks will be but legends
And the Heart be enough for Living
The day – that the meaning of all speech is loving
so one won’t have to search for meaning down to the last word
The day – that the melody of every word be Life
and I won’t be suffering to find the right rhythm for every last poem
That day – when every lip is a song
and the least song will be a kiss
That day – when you come – when you’ll come forever –
and Kindness be equal to Beauty
The day – that we toss seeds to the doves…
and I await that day
even if upon that day I myself no longer be.
Shaking down the house,
Roya