Iranian-Americans in Central Florida will be marking the Persian New Year or Nowruz this weekend with health protocols in place.
The Florida legislature has formally recognized March 21 as the Persian New Year, a spring festival that is celebrated around the world with food, family and spring cleaning.
Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani who is Iranian-American introduced the resolution to mark the holiday. Eskamani says festivities have continued this year, just virtually.
She says she held an online program of Iranian music and poetry for constituents and Iranian-American community members on Monday.
“I think it’s critical to building a more peaceful and collective world that pushes out hate, and calls out bigotry, and just really focuses on what we have in common.”
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Eskamani says she finds joy in finding the similarities between Nowruz and other spring festivals like Easter.
“Just like in Easter, we also paint eggs in Nowruz. We also do spring cleaning during Nowruz. There are so many parts of traditions in my culture that are connected to other cultures. And I think when we create the space to share in those experiences, we find out that we have a lot more in common than we do apart.”
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Eskamani says she and sister Ida will celebrate on the day, by making vegan versions of traditional Persian dishes at home for outdoor picnics.
