Happy Nowruz

Today is Nowruz! The first day of spring is the Persian new year day or Nowruz. In Persian tradition the first day of the new year is the first day of spring. Rather sensible in a lot of ways. There are many traditions attached to Nowruz and most of them are pretty fun. One of the most important is cleaning. Your home should be completely clean for Nowruz because the the next tradition is visiting. People visit each other on Nowruz. These are usually just short visits between family members and close friends. Traditions say you should visit your elders first and then your other friends and family. There are of course foods involved with the day as well. Your table should have a table with items laid out some are foods and some are symbols.  Light snacks are offered to your visitors as they have to more onto more visits and will be expecting visitors themselves. Then there is the really fun tradition of jumping over fire. This isn't as tough as it sounds. Sure if you are athletic you can jump over a bonfire but if you aren't a candle still counts.
Nowruz is an ancient holiday dating from as early as 550 BC. There are many stories of how it came about but it is believed to have been developed around the the time of the first Zoroastrian calendar.
So go clean your house and visit a good friend!