Amu Nowruz (, "Uncle Nowruz"), also known as Baba Nowruz (بابا نوروز, "Father Nowruz"), is a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary character originating in

Iranian folklore Iranian folklore encompasses the folklore, folk traditions that have evolved in Greater Iran. Oral legends Folktales Storytelling has an important presence in Iranian culture. In classical Iran, minstrels performed for their audiences at royal ...

. According to the folklore, he appears annually at the beginning of spring, together with his companion Haji Firuz, to mark the beginning of

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

, the Iranian New Year. According to some historians he symbolizes Zal, father of

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, the hero of

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

. On the eve of spring

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

, when the Iranian New Year is celebrated in the Iranian cultural continent from Albania in the West to

Western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...

in the East, Amu Nowruz brings children gifts, similar to the Western Christian folk character

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. He is the husband of

Nane Sarma Nane Sarma (, "Grandma Frost"), also known as Bibi Barfi (, "Grandma Snow"), is a mythical character in Iranian and Afghan folklore. She is the wife of Amu Nowruz, the "Uncle Nowruz".http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/outreach/curriculumplans/lessons/te ...

, who shares a traditional love story with him in which they can meet each other only once a year. Amu Nowruz is characterized as an elderly silver-haired man who puts on a felt hat, and has a walking stick, a long cloak of blue canvas, a sash, a pair of thin-soled

giveh Giveh or Giwah () is a kind of handmade shoe that is common in several parts of Iran especially in rural and mountainous areas of Kermanshah Province. The production centers of Giveh are the provinces of Yazd Province, Yazd and Kermanshah and Arak ...

, and a pair of linen trousers.
Amu Nowruz
'', Fazlollah Mohtadi, ''Shiraz University Centre for Children's Literature Studies'' He is a wise historical presence who passes the old story of Nowruz to the youth. Haji Firuz plays a tambourine, dances, and demands gifts, while Amu Nowruz is the giver.

Amu Nowruz and Nane Sarma

The story of Amu Nowruz and

is one of the symbolic legends of the transition from the old year to the new year: According to legend an old woman named Nane Sarma ("Grandma Frost") is the wife of Amu Nowruz but can only see him on this one night of the year, after which she leaves him and goes on her way until the next year. Another version of this story says that on the first day of spring every year, Nane Sarma expects Uncle Nowruz to come and visit her, but before he comes she falls asleep from exhaustion and when she wakes up she realizes that Uncle Nowruz has come and gone. It has also been said that if the two see each other the world will be destroyed. In another retelling, Amu Nowruz travels all around the world giving children gifts (much like Santa Claus) on his way to meet Nane Sarma, who loved him dearly. Nane Sarma would wake up early on the spring equinox to clean her house and ready her table. However, each year she falls asleep just before he arrives. Kindhearted Amu Nowruz would not wake her up; instead, he eats some of the food set out and places a flower in her new clothes. Then, he departs to continue his long journey. When dawn touches Nane Sarma's face, she wakes to realize she had missed seeing Amu Nowruz again. Each year the cycle repeats, and she awaits him every spring.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amoo Norooz Nowruz Iranian folklore Culture of Iran Holiday characters Christmas gift-bringers

Amu Nowruz and Nane Sarma

See also

References

External links