Sizdah Bedar for kids: the day the whole family goes outside

Sizdah Bedar (سیزده‌بدر, "thirteen out" or "getting rid of the thirteenth") is the 13th day of Nowruz, around 1 or 2 April, and the last day of the New Year holiday. Families spend the whole day outdoors with a picnic, knot blades of grass while making a wish, and at the end of the day give the Haft-Seen sprouts (sabzeh) to running water. The old belief is that thirteen is unlucky and that staying indoors that day invites the bad luck in, so everyone goes out. A small child only needs the simple version. This is the day the sprouts from the table go to the river. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

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.

What Sizdah Bedar is

Nowruz lasts thirteen days. The first twelve are for visiting: new clothes, sweets, the Haft-Seen table, the grandparents' house. On the thirteenth, the 13th of the month of Farvardin, which falls on 1 or 2 April, the holiday ends and nobody stays home. Families pack food and a blanket and spend the whole day in a park, a garden, by a stream or in the hills with relatives and friends.

The name is usually translated as "thirteen out" or "thirteen outdoors", or as "getting rid of the thirteenth". Most people explain it with a folk belief. Thirteen is an unlucky number, and if you spend the day outside, laughing and eating with family, you leave its bad luck behind. Some Persian writers argue that older Iranian texts never call the thirteenth unlucky. We found that view in two independent texts, so treat it as one opinion among several rather than settled history.

The three things families do

A picnic that lasts all day. Rugs on the grass, tea, fruit, the last of the Nowruz nuts and sweets, and often grilled kebab. Two Persian texts we read also name āsh-e reshteh (a thick noodle and herb soup) and lettuce dipped in sekanjabin (a mint and vinegar syrup) as picnic food for the day. Both are common, but we found them in only two independent sources, so ask your own family what was on their blanket.
Knotting grass for a wish. Someone ties two blades of grass, or two strands of the sabzeh, into a knot and makes a wish while doing it. It used to be done mostly by unmarried young people, especially young women, wishing for a husband or wife. Today people of every age knot grass for health, happiness or anything else they hope for in the new year. A child can knot one too.
The sabzeh goes to the water. The family takes the sprouts from the Haft-Seen table along and, at the end of the day, throws them into running water, whether a river, a stream or a creek. People usually say the water carries away the troubles of the old year. Many families say the water should be moving, not still.

The rest of the day is games. In Iran that means kites, ball games, group games for children and adults, and board games such as backgammon on the rug.

How to explain it to a small child

A three-year-old does not need the history. Three sentences in Persian are enough.

Persian	Say it like	Meaning
امروز سیزده‌بدره، همه می‌ریم بیرون.	emruz sizdah-bedar-e, hame mirim birun.	Today is Sizdah Bedar, everybody goes outside.
سبزه‌مون رو می‌دیم به آب.	sabze-mun ro midim be āb.	We give our sprouts to the water.
یه گره بزن و یه آرزو کن.	ye gereh bezan o ye ārezu kon.	Tie a knot and make a wish.

Let the child carry the sabzeh dish, and let them be the one who tips it into the water. Leave out "unlucky thirteen" until they ask. To a small child, "bad luck" just sounds frightening. Bring the word sabzeh back from the Haft-Seen two weeks earlier, so the child sees the same sprouts begin on the table and end in the river.

Sizdah Bedar abroad: a day in the park

Outside Iran, you do not need a river valley or a big gathering. A park near you, with relatives and friends, is enough.

Grow the sabzeh with the child. Wheat or lentils sprouted for Nowruz are the ones that go out on the thirteenth. If you did not grow any, a handful of grass from the park works for the knot.
Find moving water, and check the park's rules. A creek or river is the tradition. Some parks do not allow anything in their water or ponds. If yours is one of them, the sabzeh can go into a garden bed or the green-waste bin, and the child can still knot a blade of grass. Take the dish and any ribbon home with you.
Bring the grandparents in. If they are far away, a short video call at the water's edge lets them see the sabzeh go in. On Azizan a grandparent can also record a Persian story on video, page by page, for the child to watch that evening back home. See how grandparents abroad read bedtime stories on video.
Close the holiday. Sizdah Bedar is the last day of Nowruz. The beginning of the story is on the Nowruz page.

Related guides

Questions

What is Sizdah Bedar?

The 13th day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and the last day of the holiday. Families spend the whole day outdoors with a picnic, knot grass while making a wish, and throw the sprouts (sabzeh) from the Haft-Seen table into running water.

When is Sizdah Bedar?

On the 13th of Farvardin, the thirteenth day of Nowruz, usually 1 or 2 April.

Why do people throw the sabzeh into water?

People usually say the water carries away the troubles and bad luck of the old year. Most families say it should be running water, like a river or stream. Abroad, check the park's rules first. The sabzeh can also go into a garden bed.

What does knotting grass on Sizdah Bedar mean?

You tie two blades of grass into a knot and make a wish. It used to be unmarried young people, especially young women, wishing for a husband or wife. Today anyone can knot grass for any wish, and children often join in.

Is the number 13 really unlucky in Persian culture?

The folk belief behind going outdoors says it is. Some Persian writers argue that older Iranian texts do not say so and that the belief came later. We found that argument in two independent texts, so it is one view, not established history.

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Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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