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Persian (Farsi) Holiday Phrases: Nowruz and Yalda
Persian Holidays is a Finglish by Iranopedia track for English speakers who want to celebrate Nowruz, Chaharshanbe Suri, Sizdah Bedar and Yalda. It teaches what to say, what is on the table, and what each day means.
Who it is for: Anyone who wants to celebrate, or to be invited: a partner joining a Persian family for the first time, a heritage learner reconnecting, or a friend who got an invitation to a haft-sin table. You do not need a Persian family.
Included in Full Access. $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
The year at a glance
Four days make the Persian year. Here are the dates, so you can plan which one to learn first.
Yalda Night
Monday, December 21, 2026
Tuesday, December 21, 2027
The longest night: pomegranates, watermelon and poetry.
Chaharshanbe Suri
Tuesday, March 16, 2027
The fire night, on the last Tuesday evening of the year.
Nowruz
Saturday, March 20, 2027
The new year begins with spring: haft-sin, family, fresh starts.
Spring equinox. Day 1 in Iran can be Mar 21.
Sizdah Bedar
Friday, April 2, 2027
Day 13 of the new year: a picnic outdoors.
These are shared cultural days, kept to the ones every family celebrates. The calendar is checked each year.
Nowruz: the new year
Nowruz means "new day", and it marks the Persian new year on the spring equinox. Families gather around a decorated table, visit elders, and greet each other with new-year wishes for about two weeks. Children receive eidi, a small gift, usually money.
The practical thing to know is that the day itself can land on two calendar dates. Day 1 in Iran can be March 21, while families in the United States often celebrate on March 20. The track teaches the new-year greeting, how to answer it, and how to receive eidi gracefully.
Thanksgiving is the holiday you can practice today. The Seasons page has a three-minute practice with the table words, from Maman Bozorg's table, using words from the main course.
The haft-sin table
Haft-sin means "seven S's". The table is set with seven things whose names start with the letter S, each standing for something good in the year ahead. The usual seven are these.
Sabzeh
Sprouts, usually wheat or lentil. They stand for rebirth.
Samanu
A sweet pudding made from wheat. It stands for abundance.
Senjed
The dried fruit of the oleaster tree. It stands for love.
Sir
Garlic. It stands for health.
Sib
Apple. It stands for beauty and health.
Somagh
Sumac berries. They stand for the color of sunrise.
Serkeh
Vinegar. It stands for patience.
Some tables add more, such as coins and hyacinths. That is why we say "usually" and not "always". The track teaches you to name each item, in order, and say what it is for.
Chaharshanbe Suri: the fire night
Chaharshanbe Suri is the fire night before the last Wednesday of the Persian year. On the Tuesday evening, people light small fires and jump over them. The old idea is that you give the fire your paleness and your troubles, and take back its warmth and its glow.
The rhyme people say while they jump follows that idea: my paleness to you, your glow to me. The track teaches you to say it, with the right rhythm. Jump only small fires, in a safe place, and follow local fire rules.
Sizdah Bedar: day 13 outdoors
Sizdah Bedar is the thirteenth day of the new year, when families leave the house and spend the day outdoors. It is a picnic day: food, games and music in a park, by a river or in the countryside. The day closes the Nowruz season.
A tradition belongs to the haft-sin table. People take the sabzeh outdoors on this day and let it go, instead of keeping it. The track teaches the words for going outside together and for the day itself, and it explains what to bring to a picnic with a Persian family.
Yalda: the longest night
Yalda Night is the longest night of the year, on the evening of December 21. Families stay up late together and eat pomegranates and watermelon, red fruit that stands for the warmth of summer, along with nuts. Someone usually reads poetry.
The poet is Hafez. A custom called fal-e Hafez has you make a wish, open a book of his poems at random and read the page you land on as your answer. The track teaches the Yalda greeting and the words for the fruit and the poems, so you can take part from the first night.
The track, module by module
Seven short modules, in the order the Persian year goes: Nowruz and the days around it first, then Yalda.
Nowruz, the new year
Greet everyone when the year turns, and answer the greeting.
You will say: The new-year greeting.
The haft-sin table
Name each of the seven items, say what it is for, and explain the table to a guest.
You will say: Sabzeh, sib, sir.
Chaharshanbe Suri
Join the fire jumping on the last Tuesday night before Nowruz, and say the rhyme.
You will say: My paleness to you, your glow to me.
Nowruz visits and eidi
Visit, serve tea and receive your eidi.
You will say: Take your eidi.
Sizdah Bedar
Spend the thirteenth day outdoors with everyone.
You will say: Let's go outside!
Shab-e Yalda
Stay up on the longest night of the year, and greet everyone at the table.
You will say: Happy Yalda night.
Anar, watermelon and Hafez
Share the fruit and read a poem for luck.
You will say: A poem from Hafez.
Ready when you are
Persian Holidays is included in Full Access, the same plan as the whole main course. Maman Bozorg will be your host.
Questions
Nowruz, Chaharshanbe Suri, Sizdah Bedar and Yalda, plus what to say at the table on each one.
No. The track works for anyone who wants to celebrate, or to be invited.
Nowruz falls on the spring equinox. In 2027 that is March 20, and day 1 in Iran can be March 21. The dates on this page are checked each year.
Seven items whose names start with S: sabzeh, samanu, senjed, sir, sib, somagh and serkeh. Some tables add coins and hyacinths.
Yes, when it opens. Every track will be included in Full Access, the same plan as the whole main course, at $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
More tracks
Finglish by Iranopedia is a Persian (Farsi) learning app for English speakers. It teaches everyday spoken Persian in English letters, built around you: a daily review that schedules every word for you, speaking practice, games and real-life conversations. Module 1 is free with no signup.