Zoroastrianism's influence on Iranian culture and Nowruz: the Persian New Year

With the end of winter and start of spring, cozy evenings around the fireplace sipping hot chocolate are being replaced by afternoons at the beach, baking in the Florida sunlight. With March marking the end of winter, April and May bring forth new opportunities in the spring season along with a round of holiday celebrations from various religious groups. Most Christian, Catholic and Jewish Americans recognize spring as the season of Easter and Passover, leaving another major spring holiday hidden among the festive bliss.

The Persian spring holiday, known as Nowruz, is celebrated by many Iranian Americans throughout the United States. Although a small portion of the American population, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran has accounted for over 1.5 million Iranian people who are permanently living in the United States. Florida has the fifth largest Iranian American population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2014-2018 American Community Survey. In order to carry tradition from Iran to the U.S., many Iranian Americans celebrate Nowruz during March. In Alachua County, Iranian students celebrate the upcoming holiday with members of the Gainesville Iranian Community.

What is Nowruz?

The Iranian New Year (Persian New Year) is celebrated during spring in Iranian calendars, as Nowruz is the celebration of the spring equinox - the first day of spring -, which is March 20 and 21 in the United States. Before Nowruz celebrations begin, it's traditional for Iranians to go shopping, get food and visit family and friends. Furthermore, Iranians set a table - Haft-sin table - composed of several main things, including Sabze, Samanu, Senjed, Serke, Sib, Sir and Sumac. Sabze is the sprouts of wheat, barley or lentils and Samanu is a sweet wheat germ pudding. Senjed is the

Persian olive, Serke is vinegar, Sib is an apple and Sir is garlic.

"There is also a mirror, painted eggs, hyacinth with purple flowers, candles, a bowl of water, goldfish, coins, and traditional candies," said Hadi (Farhad) Ghasemi an Iranian student, celebrating Nowruz this year in the U.S. The Haf-sin table is prepared before the spring equinox along with a lunch, dinner and traditional music, which signifies the start of a good year, said Ghasemi. For Ghasemi, Nowruz is a time to prioritize visiting families and friends, which starts with greeting elders first and then the younger family members. According to Ghasemi, Nowruz is a way for members of the global Iranian community to gather, eat and drink in celebration of the new year.

How does Nowruz relate to Zoroastrianism?

The origins of Nowruz date back to the oldest monolithic religion in the world — Zoroastrianism.

"This festival [Nowruz] is rooted in the Zoroastrian religion," Ghasemi said. "It has been celebrated by many communities for over 3000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, South Caucasus around Black Sea and Caspian Sea."

An important aspect of Iranian culture besides Nowruz is the religion, Zoroastrianism, which has influenced Persian culture and practices that have withstood many generations, making Iran a country with a rich cultural past. The three main pillars of Zoroastrianism are good thoughts, good will and good deeds. The major holy book of Zoroastrians is known as the Avesta, which has seventeen important songs called Gatha that are attributed to the religion's creator — Zoroaster. In the 9th century (the Common Era), a summarized version of the Avesta that included teachings about astrology, medicine and education were discovered and later influenced the teachings and foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

How did Zoroastrianism influence world religions?

A concept recognized in Zoroastrianism that has manifested in other monolithic religions is the idea of free will. Zoroastrian followers believe that people have the choice to be an agent of good or evil, which is an idea seen in monolithic religions that followed Zoroastrianism.

"There are other elements that you also see in other religions," Armin Niknam said. "The notion of Satan exists as a Zoroastrian design — there is heaven and hell and a journey of the soul [the afterlife]." Niknam, an Iranian native, received both a bachelor's degree in letters and classics and a master's degree in American studies from Italy. Niknam recently moved to Alachua County after getting accepted to a University of Florida Ph.D program last September and is well-versed in the history behind Zoroastrianism and its influence on Iranian culture.

"[In Zoroastrianism] there are apocalyptic events that lead to the end of the world like resurrection," Niknam said. "All of these are very important elements of Zoroastrianism and we later see them in Judaism, Christianity and also in Islam."

What are the teachings and practices of Zoroastrianism?

"There are two particular garments that followers of Zoroastrianism need to wear." Niknam said. "One of them is called sudreh, and the other one is going on for 3000 years and have never been put out." The element of fire can be seen in some Nowruz celebrations, specifically in the Kurdish parts of Iran. In some Nowruz celebrations, bonfires are lit, and people jump over them while shouting or traditional music plays in the background. For Nowruz celebrations, fire is seen as a symbol of transition from the dark times of winter into the light of spring, which is something that stems from the role fire plays in Zoroastrian's view of the universe's creation.

Zoroastrianism has its own story about the origin of the universe.

"The universe was created in seven stages because of the seven attributes of Ahura Mazda," Niknam said. First the sky was created, which is something that's above humans. Second, water was created, which Zoroastrians consider being within humans. Third, the land was created, which is considered to be underneath humans. Next, plants and animals were created, which are used to make the cotton sudreh and the wool kutsi belt, respectively. After plants and animals, humans are the sixth stage of the universe's creation with fire being the last stage. Fire is one of the most important elements in Zoroastrianism and is seen not only in Iranian culture but other parts of the world where Zoroastrianism is practiced.

How to learn more about Iranian culture?

them freely or study them. There are a lot of people in Iran, mostly women and minorities, who do not enjoy certain rights."

Iran isn't a homogenous community but a mix of many different ethnic groups with varying cultural practices that are rooted in a multitude of worldviews, stemming from each end of the globe.

called kusti." A sudreh is a cotton undergarment that's worn every day and kusti is a wool belt; both of these garments are considered to be armor for soldiers of Ahura Mazda — the Zoroastrian god. Ahura Mazda has seven attributes — unchanging, omnipotent, the source of all happiness and goodness, omniscient, omnipresent and the creator of life. The seven attributes of Ahura Mazda are one of the reasons why the number seven is prevalent in modern Iranian culture. Furthermore, the number seven can be seen in the Haft-sin table for Nowruz, which has several main items — Sabze, Samanu, Senjed, Serke, Sib, Sir and Sumac.

"There's a substantial Zoroastrian population in India, who escaped Iran and fled the persecution after the Arab invasion, and they move to India and are known as Parsis (Zoroastrian Iranians who live in India)," Niknam said. "For those Zoroastrian Iranians who live in India, mostly in Gujarat, there are Zoroastrian temples that have fires

Although jumping over bonfires is something not often seen in Iranian American Nowruz celebrations, many of the other Persian New Year's traditions are celebrated by members of the Iranian community within Alachua County, who will be using Nowruz as a time of connection between family and friends. Iranian Americans like Niknam and Ghasemi take pride in their country's culture and traditions that stem from ancient practices, such as Zoroastrianism.

"I would encourage people interested or thinking of learning more about Iran and understanding Iran to be ready for a lot of nuances and diversity," Niknam said. "The diversity in Iran is huge among different generations and ethnicities, there are a variety of religions and very different worldviews. There are people whose first language is not Farsi (Iran's national language) and who are not allowed to speak

Recently, Western media reporters began to shed light on the struggles of Iranian women along with their fight for basic human rights, which has resulted in many deaths and tragedies for those protesting. The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who was allegedly killed for not properly wearing a hijab, was covered on CBS News, CNN, BBC News and many more popular Western news channels.

What are local resources to learn about Iran?

For those seeking to learn more about Iran, some book recommendations include "Women's Autobiographies in Contemporary Iran" by Afsaneh Najmabadi, "The Shah of Shahs" by Ryszard Kapuscinski, "Iran: Politics, History, and Literature" by Homa Katouzian and "Persians: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Iran" by Homa Katouzian. For a great start to Iranian culture and literature, check out "Iran Between Two Revolutions" by Ervand Abrahamin, which is currently available at UF's Library West for checkout.