Happy New Nowruz!

Have you ever heard of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year? Unlike the conventional New Year that we celebrate on January 1st, Nowruz is celebrated in the spring. The word itself means “new day,” or new start, new beginning.

Nowruz is an ancient Persian holiday, but today it is observed in many other places besides Iran - the Kurdish region of Iraq, some Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, and other countries or regions that were under the rule of the Persian Empire. I personally have never experienced any of the Nowruz customs, but I hope that you join the festivities. And even if you don't have any friends who observe Nowruz, check out this interesting blog post about the history and traditional food of Nowruz: Feasting for the Iranian New Year. I wish I wrote it, but still I am happy to share it with you :)

Whether you celebrate Nowruz or not, you can try Persian cuisine at these DC area eateries:
Moby Dick House of Kebob
Shamshiry
Kebob Bazaar
Mama Ayesha’s
Afghan Restaurant
Bread and Kabob

Here is the Persian New Year web site that includes the 2012 Nowruz celebrations calendar with Nowruz events happening in the DC area, NYC, and around the country.