Norouz dinner
My family’s Persian new year celebrations are some of my favorite memories from childhood (besides Thanksgiving –
nothing trumps Thanksgiving). Honestly, I love any holiday that is drawn out for days on end, and Norouz always seems
like it lasts for weeks, probably because of the surrounding holidays.
Right before the new year, Iranians celebrate Chaharshanbe Suri, which Wikipedia is telling me literally translates to
Wednesday Red. Chaharshanbe Suri is a fire festival – on the evening of the last Tuesday before the new year, Iranians
light bonfires and jump over them. This is supposed to be a purification rite. The fire is meant to burn away all of
your sickness and problems, leaving only warmth in its wake. My family would always have a huge party, the kind of party
that everyone in our lives was invited to (including teachers and principals - seeing them out of context was always
equal parts fascinating and horrifying to me, but it did give me some bragging rights on the playground). My mother
would go all out cooking for these parties. I remember standing in the kitchen with her for hours, rolling dolmas and
frying zulbia (syrupy Persian fritters) together. I loved the ritual and care appetizers took, it was so different from
the rote cooking of our daily lives. It felt special. My favorite part of the night was always when we would jump over
the fire. When I was very young, my father always helped swing me over the fire mid-jump, to make sure I didn’t fall
in - I was a very cautious child. My parents must have snapped dozens of photos of those jumps, and every year my
sisters and I have such a look of excitement on our faces - how daring we felt!
