The Persian holiday Nowruz نوروز (“new day”) is the biggest holiday celebrated by Iranians. It is a time of joy, celebration with family and friends; shared by people of all faiths. It has been celebrated for at least 3,000 years and is rooted in the rituals and traditions of the Zoroastrian religion. Nowruz is celebrated on the first day of spring to welcome in the new year. This year, Nowruz is on March 20th, 2018.
Use this moment to reach out the local Iranian diaspora and celebrate the New Year with a human rights twist.
Ideas for your Nowruz event:
Invite friends for an Iranian dinner, organize a potluck, or call in an Iranian caterer! Food is almost essential to a successful event!
Include a “Haft-sin (aka Haft-sinn and Haft-seen)” table in your celebration. Haft-sin or the seven S’s is a traditional table setting of Nowruz. The Haft-sin table includes seven items starting with the letter seen ( س) in the Persian alphabet. Each ” س” is a symbol which represents spring time.
Most importantly, take action on behalf of seven prisoners in Iran for whom Amnesty has been campaigning. Many have been sentenced to long prison terms for their peaceful activism and some are in poor health. Send Nowruz greetings, solidarity messages and write letters on their behalf.
Include a simple Nowruz greeting: “Nowruz mobarak” نوروز مبارک
Download the 2018 Nowruz Action file or contact IranCoordinator@amnesty.ca to request a copy.
