Believe the Spring

Open the window
For Breeze is celebrating
The birth of acacias.
And Spring
Is lighting a candle
On every branch, near each leaf.


All swallows returned
And cried freshness
The ally is overwhelmed with songs
And the cherry tree
Came to fruition
By the gifts of the acacia’s celebration.


Friend, open the window
Do you remember
How the earth burned in the wild thirst?
How leaves withered?
And how thirst burned the liver of soil?

Do you remember
What the whips of cold wind did to the vine
In long dark nights?
And What the furious wind did at midnight
To the breast of white roses
Do you remember?



Lo, believe the miracle of rain
And generosity within he eyes of meads
And love within the sprit of breeze
Joyfully celebrating
The birth of acacias
In these narrow lanes
With empty hand.

The soil has come to life again
Why are you sitting like stone?
Why are you so sad and forlorn?

Open the window
And believe
The Spring.

Poem by: Fereydoon Moshiri
Translated by: Ismail Salami

Birthday of Nature

In the modernized and hectic life of today’s world, that all the properties belonged to the past are forced to being forgotten, Norouze continues its living forever.
Norouze means new day. The new day of the spring, when winter finishes and spring comes and the nature stars its new life. It never being forgets because it has routed in our culture and it is a celebration for the birth of the spring.
We escort swallows when enunciating the spring and the rain when gifting its kindness to the meadows. Winter has gone and never can again attack white roses in the long dark nights of winter....

Spring has come!!!!

far years ago, Norouze carries a sack full of symbols and mysteries.
We can hear the footsteps of the Norouze, two our three weeks before FarvardiFrom n in the middle of March. It creeps gradually into our country and changes the street of our cities.
People are busy to make their home and clothes new. Vases of flowers can be seen everywhere, shops are filled by red fishes, colored eggs, wheat’s sprouts and haft-sin materials.

Haft –Sin

Seven (haft) is a holy number and has a supernatural power in all cultures. Iranians before Islam and after it holy seven and respect it. Ancient Zoroastrians of Iran believed on seven angles of God and each “S” of haft-sin table represents one of them.
Moreover, Haft-sin is a symbol of happiness and plenty gifts of God. It is a philosophical tradition with a tablecloth full of mystery.

The famous “S” are:
Sabze (spring sprout): symbol of New start and rebirth
Senjed (berry of the Sorb tree): symbol of love, shelter and security.
Sib ( red apple): symbol of health and beauty
Samanu (wheat pudding): symbol of sweetness and fertility
Serke (vinegar): symbol of preserver of the taste and relish
Sumac : spice of life , color of the sunrise and death of devil
Sir (garlic): symbol of peace an the clean out of bad omen

The mystery of the tablecloth is not finished yet, we put other symbolic objects, inherited of our old ancestors.

Things that where holy for them.

And each is a reminder of hidden aspects of life, nature and God’s gift to the humans.

GHoran: the holy book of Islam symbol of faith, knowledge and believe on God
Mirror: symbol of light, brightness and sunbeams.
Gold fish: symbol of water, which we cannot live without it.
Colored eggs: symbol of fertility and mother earth.
Candles: symbol of fire and energy.
Nuts, confectionaries, candies and spring fruits.

The earth goes by the sun; she passed the winter and enters to the spring,
The moment arrive!!!!
We call it sale-tahvil


All the family in their clean and new outfits sits around the haft-sin tablecloth, they prayer and read GHoran, the clocks strike New Year. The member of the family kisses each other and gives their gifts. They wish health, happiness and prosperity for all the people and the world.

“O Reformer of hearts and minds,
Director of days and nights,
And transformer of conditions,
Change ours to the best in accordance with your will.”




Then it is a time to visit old members of the family and after that visiting other relations far or near. These enjoyable gatherings continue for 13 days up to Sizda bedar day.







The Nature Day
The 13th of the Farvardin is called sizdah bedar or the nature day.
The soil has com to life again, the smell of rain and grass, the blue sky and the white clouds, meadows, rivers, trees; they all are happy and fresh.
Why we sit and do not touch the spring.
We have celebrated the arrival of the spring for 13 days and now it is a time to go to the nature and breathe the freshness of it.
Good for the days that are coming…..

History of Norouze










Norouze is a celebration, which has a history as long as Iranian civilization; it has been celebrated by all the major cultures of ancient Iran for at least 3000 BC and it has rooted in traditions of zoroastian belief system. There are narrated tales about the origin of Norouze in Iranians culture reminded of ole ages ago.

** The Zoroastrian honor the ten-day period in order to make happy the spirit of their dead ancestors, which return to the material world on that day.

**Jamshid , the Pihdadi king, sat on a golden throne while elves carried him on their shoulders. He traveled from Damavand to Babele in just on day. People saw the sun’s rays on him and celebrated the day.

**Solomon has lost his king finger and, as a result, lost his reign. After searching for it for forty days, he found his ring and recovered his sovereignty. Hence, the people cried, “Norouze (the new day) has come.

**Norouze is the day that all people promise to God not to worship anyone except him and obey his senders and prophets. (In Islam we call it Alast day).

** Is a day that the sun rose and wind below and the earth became fresh and alive.

**It is the day that Noah’s ship landed on the Jody Mountain after Flood.

** The day that our prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) holed Ali (p.b.u.h) on his shoulders to break idol of Ghoraysh in Kabba.

** And it is the day that prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), introduces Ali (p.b.u.h) to the peoples and makes him his substitute.

BLACK OR WHITE ?

This poem was nominated poem of 2005. Written by an African kid, amazing thought:

"When I born, I Black,
When I grow up, I Black,
When I go in Sun, I Black,
When I scared, I Black,
When I sick, I Black,
And when I die, I still Black... Andyou White fellow,

When you born, you pink,
When you grow up, you White,
When you go in Sun, you Red,
When you cold, you blue,
When you scared, you yellow,
When you sick, you Green,
And when you die, you Gray...
And you call me colored???......... "

My Hometown Tehran

My hometown is green.
Full of flower’s smell during summers and springs.
It is a huge city with tall buildings and great headways.
Full of cars and people, like other’s big capital cities.
It was small so many years ago.
It was a small, green and beautiful village;
With pleasant weather near the ancient and historical city of Rey.
Ghajar’s kings selected it as a capital of Iran;
To enjoy of its mild weather and its every season fruits.
People migrated to it.
They were searching for life.
Big cities need people and people need house, a place to live.
People need car to go work, and cities need roads to serve them.
So, Tehran has grown up.

Now, it is a very big city.
Full of historical buildings and museums remained of ages ago in its center and south.
Buildings belonged to Old Iranian kings that are not exist now.
Its north is called Shemiran ended with Alborz Mountains
It was covered by orchards.
Now towers have grown up there.
Orchards can be seen form tower’s windows.
Some of them are now public parks.
People go there to enjoy themselves.
They go mountain claming, sit near the rivers amid tall trees;
Where Birds are chanting, flowers are smiling, and water is singing.
They test local junk food in summer hot days while cold breeze of north touch their faces.
Autumn is full of colure,
With red, orange, yellow leaves
People walk on them; get pleasure from their crackling echo.
In winter they do ski in Dizin, Shemshak or Abali.

My hometown Tehran is important.
It is full of political buildings, cinemas, theaters,factories, hospitals, universities.
Tehran never sleeps.
It is a busy city.
At night its streets are lighted with thousands colored lamps.
In day people make their life under its blue sky.
Tehran is full of light.
And when there is light, there should be shadow.
Shadow of workless migrated to it.
Shadow of cars filled its streets,
Of their smoke covering its blue sky.
Shadow of people’s time wasted in its traffic roads.
Shadow of tall buildings hiding Damavand its constant symbol
Shadow of ….
Of losing leafy childhood in its streets filling with modernized life....

By zahra langaroodi

Tehran's towers

Night of Tehran

Hemat Headway


Mellat park

Modares headway

Shemiran's local resturant

Shemiran's local junk food