{"id":25603,"date":"2025-03-14T10:30:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T14:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/?p=25603"},"modified":"2025-03-14T10:30:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T14:30:20","slug":"ell-students-illuminate-the-significance-of-nowruz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachmag.com\/ell-students-illuminate-the-significance-of-nowruz\/","title":{"rendered":"Springtime Traditions: ELL Students Illuminate the Significance of Nowruz"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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<\/span><\/strong><\/a> 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\u2019re excited to share our latest video collaboration, continuing our mission to raise awareness of the diverse traditions within our school community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultures around the world celebrate the arrival of spring in unique and meaningful ways\u2014Easter, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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: \u201cSD42 students explain how they celebrate Nowruz<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Nowruz?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nowruz means \u201cnew day\u201d 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\u2019s 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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to prepare for Nowruz?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Nowruz celebrated?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nowruz is celebrated over thirteen days and schools are closed during this time. The New Year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What foods are eaten during Nowruz?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During Nowruz, families enjoy meals of their choice, such sabzi polo ba mahi<\/em> which means \u201cherb rice with fish.\u201d Other foods include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n