New Year celebrated on first day of spring

New Year celebrated on first day of spring

First day of spring is the beginning of New Year for present country of Iran(former Persia) and the former countries and regions that were part of the Persian Empire (Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, Kurdish population of Turkey and Iraq, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East, as well as the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan,Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan).

The exact first day of spring is not marked by groundhog seeing his shadow but marked by the astronomical equinox , which usually occurs on March 21 or one day before or after, depending on where it is observed. At the time of the equinox, the sun will be directly over the equator.The north and south poles of the Earth lie along the solar terminator. The sunlight is evenly divided between the north and south hemispheres. At this exact time you can stand an egg on bottom of its long side.

The night before the last Wednesday of the year(hence today) is celebrated by the Iranian people as Chaar Shanbeh Suri. People go into the streets, beaches and parks and make little bonfires, and jump over them while singing the traditional song Zardi ye man az to --sorkhi ye to az man. This literally translates to "My yellowness is yours-- your redness is mine". The celebration of the New Year lasts 13 days. For 12 days people visit their friends and families without special notice. Everyone is ready and waiting for guests to arrive at their door. My mother used to prepare and bake cookies everyday for at least one week before New Year. I remember my grand father, like god-father movie used to receive visitors and used to give 100+ gold coins to first 100+ visitors. The last day and the 13 day, you have to go outside and throw all your bad thoughts and deeds and bad fortune in an open green space and by the running water.