When I was doing a little research to write this blog post, I came across the ancient- origins website, that describes so nicely what Nowruz is. I am attaching the hyperlink for those of you who are interested in reading more about Nowruz.  

But here is a small taste of their description of it:

” Even though Nowruz is a celebration of a celestial event, it is deeply rooted in the mythology of the Persians. Nowruz focuses on the philosophical aspects of light conquering darkness, good conquering evil, the warmth of spring conquering the cold winter. According to ancient mythical stories written in the Persian epic Shahnameh, Nowruz was introduced during the reign of the mythical king named Jamshid. Jamshid defeated the evil demons and made them his servants as he captured their treasures and jewels. He then became the ruler of everything on earth except the heavens, and the world was devastated after the war between him and the demons. The trees were dead and had lost all their leaves. Earth had turned into a dark and lifeless place. For reaching the heavens, Jamshid ordered the demons to build him a throne made out of the jewels he had captured. When the throne was build finished, he sat on it and commanded the demons to lift him high up into the sky. As he was sitting on his throne, sun rays hit the jewels of his throne, and the sky was illuminated with all the world’s colors. The rays beaming from Jamshid revived all trees and plants and turned them green and full of leaves. Life on earth began to thrive as Jamshid rose like the sun. People were amazed by the sight of Jamshid and overwhelmed him with even more treasures and jewels. This day of celebration was named Nowruz, and it marked the first day of the year. Jamshid later rescued his people from a harsh winter that would have killed all creatures on earth. Mythological survival stories with Jamshid as the main character is considered to be mythical symbols regarding the historical events of when Indo-Iranian Aryans abandoned their neolithic lifestyles as hunter-gatherers and became settlers on the Iranian mainland. Settlements were profoundly dependent on their crops and, in turn, dependent on the outcome of the seasons. The spring equinox, therefore, marked an important event in the lives of ancient Iranians.”

In the end, I would like to share a music video from an Iranian female artist Azam Ali. It fits perfectly with the celebration of Nowruz. And why I chose her video? Because the aesthetics of her videos (the images and her color play in the scenography) makes me feel an extreme sense of freedom. Thank you very much, Anna Perry, for introducing me to her music.

By the way, happy Nowruz to all of you inhabitants of our blue planet.