Nowruz March 20, 2009: Obama Seeks New Day for US-Iran Relations

The ancient festival of Nowruz (NO-ROOZ) is a pre-Islamic Zoroastrian holiday, celebrating the arrival of Spring and the beginning of a new year. The most important holiday in Iran, it begins on the vernal equinox, which falls on March 20th this year. For millions in Iran, and in communities in Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as in the West, Nowruz is a time to reflect on endings and beginnings.

Nowruz, meaning "New Day," is referred to in Iran as an Eid festival, although it is not Islamic. It is celebrated by Iranians of all religions. Prior to the new year, people typically prepare with a spring-cleaning of their house and the purchase of new clothes and flowers. They begin the 12-day celebration by visiting the family elders, then the rest of the family, then their friends. On the first day of Nowruz, family members gather around the "Haft Seen" (Seven S's) table, decorated with seven traditional foods beginning with the Persian letter "Seen" or "S."

After committing his administration to a future of honest and respectful diplomacy, he continues on to address Iran's leaders directly: "You, too, have a choice.  The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations.  You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization.  And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create."