Persian New Year, also known as Iranian New Year, is celebrated on March 21 to 22. The holiday’s real name is Nowruz, which means “new day.”
Nowruz may be where Americans got the tradition of spring cleaning, as a deep clean of the home in the weeks leading up to the holiday is part of the traditional festivities. The holiday dates back 3,000 years, and was a Zororastrian holiday, which means it spread far beyond the boundaries of its native Iran.
How do I decorate for Nowruz?
Your haftsin table will be the centerpiece. It will hold a collection of seven items, each representing a different hope for the year ahead (see below).
You can also decorate with colored eggs, similar to the way you’d decorate for Easter. The associations are even similar: they symbolize productivity, creativity, rebirth, and spring.
Decorating with new flowers, fresh green plants, and light, springtime colors are all highly appropriate.
What goes on a Haftsin table?
The Haftsin or haft-seen table is a collection of seven items that symbolize a different hope for the new year.
- Sabzeh is a sprout or grass that will grow to symbolize rebirth or renewal. You should start the sprouts at least 10 days before the holiday. Three days after Nowruz, you’re supposed to toss it into a moving body of water.
- Senjed is dried fruit for love.
- Sib is apples for beauty and health.
- Seer is garlic, for medicine and for taking care of yourself.
- Samanu is a sweet pudding for wealth and fertility.
- Serkeh is vinegar for patience and wisdom.
- Sumac is for the sunrise of a new day.
You may hear these items referred to as the “seven S’s” of Nowruz.
Once those seven items are set you can decorate, customize, and add to the table as you see fit. Note that this table is set aside, it’s not the table where you eat your meal.
Celebrants take great pride in setting a gorgeous table. You can also add candles, eggs, and other decorations. A nice tablecloth will help to offset your table.
What are Persian New Year eggs?
The tradition of decorating eggs for Nowruz predates Christianity and may have been the origin of the tradition at the Easter holiday. You can decorate them just as you’d decorate Easter eggs, or you can go more elaborate by painting designs onto your eggs with nontoxic paint. Some even prefer using artificial eggs.
For more visual interest, you can branch away from chicken eggs so that you can offer eggs of different sizes. Egg-shaped candy is also appropriate!
Persian New Year Traditional Gifts
It is traditional to bring gifts when you are invited to a Nowruz celebration. Traditional gifts include flowers, sweets, and pastries.
When you bring gifts, presentation is a big deal! Use nice handmade paper or fancy ribbons. Create a beautiful flower arrangement or decorate the pot on a potted plant. Whatever you do, make it look nice.
It’s also traditional to give a little money to the children on this day.
Other Persian New Year Traditions
Cook lots of food! Try traditional Iranian foods, or choose dishes that center on greens and herbs to symbolize renewal.
Buy a new set of clothes for your Nowruz party. This is traditional too, and there’s nothing like having a great excuse to shop!
Paper Plus has plenty of items to help you with your Nowruz celebration, from egg coloring kits to brightly colored napkins and tablecloths. Stop by to see what’s in stock!
Some of these require a few more props. For example, if you want to do the hot air balloon you’ll need a basket. You stand in the basket. Attach 36” helium balloons to the basket.
There are also thematic options from certain eras. 
Why? Because vanilla is awesome, that’s why. So are cupcakes (first created in 1776). Amelia Simmons invented them in her book: American Cookery. She simply called them “a cake to be baked in small cups.” Later, Eliza Leslie would name the same dish “cupcakes” in her 19th-century book, Receipts.
If you’re into making everything homemade you can even make your own vanilla extract. It uses exactly two ingredients: vanilla beans and 80 proof alcohol. We’ve been known to give them out as holiday gifts after setting them up in pretty bottles with homemade labels. This allows you to choose the vanilla beans you like (there are multiple varieties) and get a stronger flavor than you could get from store-bought, mass-produced vanilla extract.
We all want to have more fun these days and celebrate even small things after coming out of the pandemic. Be the funnest friend around by gracing your group with a little celebration based on one of these holidays every month. Start here because November can feel rainy and dark, and this holiday is primed to offer a little much-needed levity and festivity.
You can find pre-made glow-in-the-dark decorations too. There are glowy party letters, glowy balloons, and other fluorescent and neon party supplies that can help you make your space look amazing. Use your imagination!
You’d be amazed how many party foods you can make glow. Certain ingredients do it naturally, including tonic water, cooking oil, eggs, honey, olive oil, ketchup, pineapples, and milk.
Cover the bottom of your box in felt to create grass or a street. You can also use the felt to decorate the outer parts of the box, creating a diorama with a little texture. Usually, a shoebox will do, but if you want to give yourself a little more space a gift box can provide some extra room.
You don’t have to decorate your whole house this year, and that might be kind of nice! Instead, you can just stage your Zoom background.
If you and your family have formed a “Covid Pod” then you might be doing an outdoor gathering this year. Look for decorations that won’t be defeated by wind. If you’re doing balloons, add weights to them to keep them in place.
There’s no glossing over the fact that a Zoom Thanksgiving isn’t “the same” as the festivities you’ve enjoyed in the past. Try not to let that get you down. If you treat your call with your family and friends like an event for the day that allows you to connect and catch up, and go out of your way to make it as festive as possible, then your holiday can still be meaningful and special.
Gather your kids and recycled and reusable materials to create fun, practical, and decorative crafts. Look for items around the house that you aren’t using anymore and find creative ways to upcycle them.
When you have wrapped up your Earth Day activities, consider hosting a shelter-in-place Earth Day party, with healthy food and supplies you might have around the house.
This Jewish holiday celebrates the Jewish people’s escape from Haman. If you’re looking for ideas for a Purim costume for adults, think about putting together a Queen Esther costume by adding a gold armband and bangles to a dress you already have. Your child will love a Haman costume that you make complete with a fake beard and mustache. Spice up a hamantaschen costume with a fun wig for easy Purim dress up. Don’t be afraid to recycle and reinvent costumes that are already in your closet. You don’t have to spend a lot of extra money on a full costume. Take stock of your current inventory and dress it up with fun costume accessories. Now that you’re in costume, it’s time for 
Whether it’s your first 
Did your child just come home from school telling you they need a fake sword for the school play? Or they need a Chautauqua costume for their next performance? Save money by finding a complete costume that your child may have worn in the past and sprucing it up with a wig, hat, feather boa, or costume jewelry. It’s easy to dress your kid up in black pants and a button-up shirt; transform that basic outfit into a character from the past by adding a vest, a fake mustache, fake beard, wig, and appropriate hat. Little items like a pocket watch, a fake mouse, or spectacles will make your kid’s costume complete.
Don’t wait until the last minute to get you or your children outfitted in the perfect costume for the next school play, fair, festival, cosplay convention, LARP, theme party, Purim, or any other fun celebration that may come around throughout the year.
