In Iran, the new year begins on 20 or 21 March, exactly at the time of the spring equinox, the date of which is determined each year by astronomical observations. This event, known as "New Year's Day", marks the beginning of spring. In contrast, the western turn of the year is not celebrated in Iran and the date is unknown to many.
Preparations for Nowruz begin a month in advance with a big spring clean in the house. (We have read this, but can't quite believe it, at least I experienced a more thorough spring clean in my childhood). Then it's time to go shopping for the festivities. Traditionally, many people renew their wardrobe before the festival. A special festival, chahar shanbeh soori, is celebrated on the last Wednesday before Nowruz, when fires are lit across the country, accompanied by the wish to exchange the paleness of winter for the freshness of fire. It is a time for families to get together, tell stories and share sweets.
Just in time for the equinox, called sa'at-i tahvil, families gather around their haft-sin, a table decorated with seven special items, to wish each other a happy new year and exchange gifts. These items, which all begin with the letter "S", are deeply rooted in Persian culture and include sprouted wheat, sweet pudding and a red apple. The haft-sin is often complemented by other symbols such as a mirror, candles and books of poetry by Hafez or Ferdowsi. In one café we visited, the Nowruz table decoration was joined by the cat of the house - what could be nicer for us?
Nowruz also marks the start of a 13-day holiday period, during which many Iranians travel and holiday resorts can become overcrowded. The holidays end with Sizdah Bedar, a day when people go outside for a picnic and symbolically cast off the worries of the past year by planting sprouted wheat in the ground or throwing it into a river.
I have this information from my always ready and really good Travel guide "Iran" by Stefan Loose taken from this article. We could not have summarised our experiences any better.
So much for the theory.
The island of Qeshm is a place where many people spend their holidays. This year, the new year began at 6.30 in the morning, unfortunately we sleepyheads completely missed it on our lonely beach. But yes, we did see the many tourists. We are amazed at how many tents fit on this island. There are now many more tents than houses, a tent next to every car. In front of each tent is a carpet, a gas cooker, a shisha and cushions to relax on. In front of the carpets, millions upon millions of plastic flats are piled up. People camp somewhere on the concrete, on the pavement, on the grass verge in the middle of a six-lane road. People park everywhere. In the evening, music and the smell of barbecues drown each other out.
Everywhere we go, we are invited to social gatherings, our freshly bought supplies are put to no use as delicious home cooking, wonderful Persian sweets and pots of tea are taken out of the car boots. With singing, dancing and Nowruz celebrations lasting several days, we get an impression of what it is like when we are warned that "The island will be full at Nowruz!
Of course, we knew beforehand that we would be on Qeshm for Nowruz, but it was also our goal to experience it.
Note: We will still not publish photos of dances & families from whom we have not received permission.
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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