Norooz: The Reunion of Iranian and Arab Culture and Civilization

Feasts and Festivals are ceremonies held by various peoples and nations in order to put on display their indigenous and unique cultures. Persian peoples, too, have their own unique and peculiar customs while celebrating Norooz Festival, just like Arabs who observe their own festivities during Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha or the beginning of the lunar calendar or year; and so do Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians observe certain rites for their respective New Years. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the origins and roots of Persian and Arab feasts and their role in relations with these nations. Such ties are noticeable and should be studied in different periods of Arabic literature from the pre-Islamic period, through the Islamic and Abbasid era. Norooz is also discussed during the Sassanid period, after the Arab conquest of Persia, along with the impact this Norooz tradition had on the economic and political life of Persians and the subsequent literary restoration and development that occurred in the revival of Persian poetry and prose in the Islamic period.