Nowruz for kids: explaining the Persian New Year, with stories grandparents can read from afar
Nowruz (“new day”) is the Persian New Year, celebrated on the spring equinox around 20–21 March. Families set a Haft-Seen table, clean the house, wear new clothes and visit relatives for about thirteen days. The oldest tale about its beginning is from the Shahnameh: King Jamshid, a flying throne and the first bright morning of spring. Azizan has a short, illustrated Persian story of the first Nowruz that a grandparent can record on video and the child keeps on their shelf.
Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.
How to explain Nowruz to a young child
The idea: "Winter is over. Today the day and the night are the same length, and the days start to get longer."
The table: the Haft-Seen holds seven things whose names start with the letter س (seen), each a wish for the year: growing wheat or lentil sprouts (rebirth), apples (health), garlic, vinegar, sumac, coins and more.
The people: Nowruz is visiting day. Children get greetings, sweets and small gifts from the elders.
Celebrating Nowruz when grandparents live far away
Grow wheat or lentil sprouts about two weeks before Nowruz; children enjoy watching them.
Send the grandparents an Azizan link so they can read the story of the first Nowruz in their own voice.
On the first day of spring, sit at the Haft-Seen and watch Grandma's recording together.
The recording stays on the child's shelf for next Nowruz, and the one after.
Facts parents ask about
Nowruz begins at the moment of the spring equinox, usually 20 or 21 March.
In 2010 the UN General Assembly recognised 21 March as the International Day of Nowruz; UNESCO lists Nowruz as intangible cultural heritage, shared by many countries across Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans.
The Shahnameh credits King Jamshid with the first Nowruz.
How the wise king Jamshid gave Iran its spring festival — and why families still clean the house and grow sabzeh every Nowruz. · ages 5-8
Questions
When is Nowruz?
On the spring equinox, usually 20 or 21 March, the first day of the Iranian month of Farvardin.
What is the Haft-Seen?
A table of seven symbolic items whose Persian names begin with the letter س (seen), such as sprouts, apples, garlic and vinegar, each standing for a wish for the new year.
Is there a Nowruz story for toddlers?
Yes. Azizan's Persian story of Jamshid and the first Nowruz is written for young children, with a gentle ending. The full text is free on azizan.app.
How can grandparents far away take part in Nowruz?
They can record themselves reading the story on video in Azizan. The child watches it on Nowruz — and every Nowruz after.