Twenty-five centuries ago, Alexander the Great introduced the inhabitants of what would later become Afghanistan to the customs and traditions associated with the Persian New Year. By taking those customs and traditions to conquered lands, the leader of the Athenian troops brought Nowruz to the land east of the Persian Empire. The movements of Alexander and his troops insured the existence of Nowruz festivities during the first springtime of Afghanistan’s recovery from the suffocating influence of the Taliban.

The American troops that were part of the NATO forces then in Afghanistan participated in some of those festivities. Reporters with those troops then told the American people about the holiday called Nowruz. An article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times reiterated many of the facts that had already been mentioned in some of the classrooms in Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles County has a large population of Iranian immigrants. It is therefore to be expected that the teachers in L.A. County would want to provide their students with information about Nowruz. Moreover, students always enjoy learning about holidays.

Students have shown that some of the objects associated with Nowruz hold, for them, a special fascination. The plate of wheat grass, which goes on the table with various other items, is something that most children have never seen before. Frequently, young male students want to taste that wheat grass.

In March of 1994, one mother walked into a third grade classroom with a bag full of items associated with Norooz (the Persian New Year). As she walked into the classroom, the teacher said, “The mother of [one of your classmates] is here to tell you about a special holiday.”

One boy called out, “I know what it is, the Passover.”

The mother calmly said, “No,” as she strode to the front of the classroom.

Then another boy spied some colored eggs in the mother’s bag. He said, “I know what holiday it is, Easter.”

Again the mother said, “No.” She then arrived at the point from which she could address the class. Standing there, the mother told the third graders whatever she knew about Norooz.

She explained that Nowruz, or Norooz, comes in March. The first day of the Persian New Year is the first day of spring. The mother showed the students the various items that go on the Nowruz table. Those items included 7 different objects, each of which started with the letter “s” in Farsi, the language of Iran.

The mother put the 7 items on a table in the classroom. She then added to that table a bowl with a one or more gold fish. She also put on that table some candles, candles that were standing upright. The mother explained that in an Iranian home, those candles would be lit at the precise time when the season of spring had begun.

The mother did not mention the games that are played in Afghanistan during Nowruz. Those games represent one of the ways in which the Afghani people have adopted and adapted the customs that they learned from Alexander and his many soldiers.