Nowruz, the Persian new year looms as war steals Iranians’ joy

PARIS: Beneath a hail of bombs, few Iranians have the heart to prepare for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as war casts a shadow across the country.

“People just aren’t thinking about it,” said a resident of the northern city of Bukan, reached by phone from Paris.

“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve forgotten how to grow sabzeh,” a mother said, referring to the sprouted lentils grown for Nowruz.

Yet the holiday is a central moment in Persian culture, typically marked by weeks of anticipation.

Nowruz, meaning ‘new day,’ will ring in the year 1405 on the Persian calendar and the arrival of spring on the afternoon of March 20.