As we approach Nowruz, tens of festivals, events and new-year bazaars have been organized by the Iranian-Canadian community of Toronto. We got the fire festival and several other events ahead of us that can help Canadians in familiarizing themselves more with our Iranian culture and traditions. Our phone calls and emails from different politicians, municipalities and official party representatives of Canada have been ever increasing by the year and this only proves Nowruz is becoming more established in our new home, Canada. The very fact that Nowruz marks the beginning of spring is reason enough for all non-Iranians to celebrate this day and understand its importance as it brings a whole new wave of energy and rejuvenation to our lives.

The involvement of non-Iranians in our community’s festive events is of utmost importance; not necessarily how many of them attend this year but that this number increases every year. We should ensure that our fellow non-Iranian community members leave our events with only happy, fun and informative memories. To achieve this, organizers should make sure their events are capable of handling a non Farsi speaking crowd. This means that information, booklets, brochures, products are communicated in English just as well as Farsi. English speeches and announcements as well as English translations of any portrayed films or music can certainly play a role in accomplishing this task.

We’d like to initiate the process ourselves with an article we have prepared for you in English by Hamid Taghavi about Nowruz; it has been broadcasted as part of a documentary in California. Anyone is welcome to use information and parts of this article. Visit www.salamtoronto.ca to attain a print copy of the report.

Though it’s been some time since Nowruz has become an official holiday in Canada, diversifying it requires the involvement of members of other communities along with Iranians.