By Harjit Chauhan, Kawaldeep Ghuman, and Sukhdeep Birdi
The three of us are ELL teachers from the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows school district in British Columbia. A few years ago, we created a series of educational videos to highlight important holidays like Ramadan and Eid that are celebrated by our ELL students. Now, as we approach the season of spring festivals, we’re excited to share our latest video collaboration, continuing our mission to raise awareness of the diverse traditions within our school community.
Cultures around the world celebrate the arrival of spring in unique and meaningful ways—Easter, Songkran, Vaisakhi, and many others. Over the years, our ELL students have eagerly shared stories about one particularly beautiful festival that falls over spring break: Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Inspired by our previous cultural videos, many of these students expressed a desire to create their own, so they could educate their peers about this significant celebration.
In response to their enthusiasm and the growing Persian community in our district, we decided to create another video that would highlight this important holiday. This new video would feature ELL students from our three schools, along with Shabnam Momtahen, our Settlement Worker in Schools (SWIS) worker.
After two months of planning and scriptwriting, and working closely with our district communications specialist, Jasmine Bala, we are excited to share the final result: “SD42 students explain how they celebrate Nowruz.”
What is Nowruz?
Nowruz means “new day” in Farsi, and it starts on March 20th this year. According to the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, the date of the festival can be anywhere from March 19th to the 22nd. Nowruz is a New Year’s celebration to welcome the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated worldwide and is an official holiday in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, and most of Central Asia. It is a regional holiday in parts of Southern India.
How to prepare for Nowruz?
Preparations start three weeks in advance, with houses being thoroughly cleaned to symbolize a fresh start to the new year. Families display flowers and vases are filled with water to get rid of any bad luck.
How is Nowruz celebrated?
Nowruz is celebrated over thirteen days and schools are closed during this time. The New Year’s Day is celebrated on the first day of the holiday and families light a candle to start the year. Over the next two weeks, people wear new clothes, eat special meals, exchange gifts, paint eggs, and visit their relatives.
What foods are eaten during Nowruz?
During Nowruz, families enjoy meals of their choice, such sabzi polo ba mahi which means “herb rice with fish.” Other foods include:
- Reshteh polo (Persian noodle rice with raisins)
- Dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves)
- Shirazi salad (a mixed vegetable salad)
- Sabzi (fresh vegetables and herbs)
What are some of the different traditions for Nowruz?
Every family sets up a special table in their house called the haft-sin/haft-seen table. “Haft” means “seven” and “sin/seen” reflects the pronunciation of the 15th letter in the Persian alphabet (س / the letter “s”). A tablecloth of personal choice called a sofreh is placed on the table first, then seven traditional food items that start with “s” are carefully arranged on top. Each item has a different meaning:
- Seeb is an apple which symbolizes health and beauty;
- Sabzeh is sprouting grass, wheat, or barley, which symbolizes new life, rebirth, greenery, nature, and peace;
- Samanu is a dessert which is symbolizes sweetness, power, and strength;
- Serkeh is vinegar which symbolizes age;
- Seer is garlic which symbolizes health;
- Somagh is a spice made from dried berries, a symbol of sunrise;
- Senjed is dried fruit which symbolizes love.
Some families might add a few more items to the table, while others stick with the customary seven. Additional items that may be added include: decorative eggs (which are a symbol of fertility), candles, a mirror, goldfish, the holy book Quran, and a book of poetry by notable historic poet Saadi Shirazi. The table may also be decorated with flowers such as narcissus, tulip, and hyacinth.
What is the fire jumping festival Chaharshanbe Suri?
Chaharshanbe Suri is a tradition that takes place on the last Wednesday before Nowruz. People build bonfires then jump over them, singing while they do so in order to replace bad things from the old year with good things for the new one. They sing the words “yellow is yours, your red is mine.” (Yellow represents illness and red represents health.) Adults carry small children and help them with jumping over the fire. The event takes place in the evening and lasts until midnight, with families customarily bringing food for a picnic.
What is Ghashogh-Zani?
Ghashogh-Zani (“spoon-banging”) is a tradition similar to Halloween. Children walk up to houses and bang pots and pans until an adult puts a treat into their pot. Many children also receive money. Usually, kids visit all the houses in their neighbourhood. During Ghashogh-Zani, some children cover their faces with a mask so the neighbours can’t recognize them.
What is Sizdah Bedar?
After thirteen days of Nowruz, families get together for a picnic at a park to enjoy nature and spring; this tradition is called Sizdah Bedar. In the evening, each family throws the greenery from the haft-sin table into running water. This is a symbol of new beginnings. Some families dance, sing, and play different games on this day, and fireworks are set off in the evening.
The Eidi tradition, explained by SWIS worker Shabnam Momtahen
“I remember that the best thing about Nowruz is Eidi,” Shabnam says. “After the new year, families go to visit their grandparents, and they gift money to children and young adults. The giving of money as a gift continues with the parents, uncles, and aunts. This money should be new money brought from the bank. The children earn a lot of money over the thirteen days of Nowruz, and this is an exciting event for them.”
Making connections
The students in the video felt enthusiastic to participate and they were quick to add their own personal connections about Nowruz, explaining their family’s unique and individual ways of celebrating the festival. Some students were nervous to get in front of the camera, but once they started and saw their peers supporting them, they felt encouraged. When they saw the final video, the students were proud of their efforts, and eager to share the resource they had helped to create.
As for us, we learned from more than just our research, thanks to the students and families who shared their authentic experiences with us. They took great initiative to bring in family photos and artifacts to teach us about Nowruz, and even helped us set up haft-sin/haft-seen tables at our schools.
Elementary school
Photo 2. Haft-sin/haft-seen table at Albion Elementary
The process of creating this new video resource allowed us to make personal connections to our students’ languages, foods, and customs. We were surprised to discover that there are many similarities between the language of Farsi and those of Punjabi and Hindi, which we are more familiar with. We also connected the gift-giving traditions of Ghashogh-Zani and Eidi to an Indian festival called Lohri.
We’re thrilled to share this new video resource, and we hope it sparks a deeper appreciation for Nowruz and its rich cultural significance. We encourage everyone to learn as much as they can about different cultures and the many vibrant celebrations happening across the globe. By doing so, we can create more inclusive and dynamic learning environments for all.
This is just the beginning—we’re committed to shining a spotlight on even more holidays and festivals that celebrate the incredible diversity within our school district. Stay tuned for our next one!
Harjit Chauhan’s teaching career began over eighteen years ago. She discovered that teaching English was her passion when she moved overseas to South Korea to teach. Upon her return, she often spoke her first language—Punjabi—to work closely with families. This led her to pursue a TESL certificate and eventually make the leap to an English Language Learner specialist. Harjit currently works in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows School District in British Columbia (District #42).
Kawaldeep Ghuman started her teaching career at a private school before moving to the Maple Ridge School District in BC (SD42), where she began TTOCing in both elementary and secondary schools. During this time, she found herself drawn to ELL teaching, feeling a natural connection with the ELL students and families because she also speaks another language and has been in their shoes. For the past seven years, Kawaldeep has been working with English language learners and it remains her passion to this day.
Sukhdeep Birdi’s teaching career began in Winnipeg, MB. She taught many different grades within the private and public-school sector for over 17 years, before transitioning to the English language learning field in 2013. Sukhdeep has always had a strong interest in teaching English and supporting newcomer students with their personal and academic areas. Presently, she works as an ELL specialist at an elementary school in Maple Ridge, BC.
