Nowruz Celebration showcases Persian culture through music, dance and tradition
By JALAN TEHRANIFAR — features@theaggie.org
UC Davis students, faculty and alumni gathered at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center on March 8 to celebrate the Persian New Year during Nowruz Celebration, an event hosted by the undergraduate Iranian Students Organization (ISO). The celebration brought together students of diverse backgrounds to experience the rich traditions of Nowruz, which marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the Iranian calendar year.
Nowruz, which means “new day” in Farsi, is an ancient festival dating back over 3,000 years. It is celebrated not only in Iran but also in countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan and parts of Central Asia and the Middle East. The holiday falls on the spring equinox, symbolizing rebirth, new beginnings and the triumph of light over darkness.
Families traditionally prepare for Nowruz by engaging in khooneh tekouni (spring cleaning), buying new clothes and visiting loved ones. The celebrations last for 13 days, culminating in Sizdah Bedar, a day spent outdoors in nature to bring good luck for the year ahead. This year, Nowruz begins on March 20, 2025 at 2:01 a.m.
The event featured traditional Persian music, food and cultural performances, immersing attendees in the spirit of Nowruz. The student performances included a poem reading by Telli Abbasian-Arjomand, a guitar performance by Bardia Anvari, a singing performance by Terme Arjomand and a violin and santoor performance by Negar Agah and Remi Seddigh. The performances closed with a Persian cultural dance that was choreographed by the group’s board members, performed by Ayla Ajdari, Elina Sadeghian, Max Wakeman and Amanda Zanganeh Azam.
A highlight of the celebration was the Haftseen table, a beautifully arranged display of seven symbolic items starting with the Persian letter “S” that represent renewal, prosperity and good fortune for the year ahead. Items such as sabzeh (sprouted grains) for rebirth, senjed (dried fruit) for love and seer (garlic) for health adorned the table, drawing admiration from attendees.
Lila Salehi, a fourth-year human biology major, was born and raised in Iran and longed to find a sense of home at UC Davis — a connection she ultimately discovered through the Iranian Students Organization. Now serving as the group’s president, she was thrilled to share Persian culture with the broader Davis community through this special event.
“With only eight board members who are balancing school and planning [the event], we’ve worked incredibly hard to put together a night filled with performances, cultural booths, Persian food and dancing,” Salehi said. “This is the first time the undergraduate student club is hosting Nowruz. In previous years it was the graduate students, but this year it’s all on us.”
Despite the challenges of organizing such a large-scale celebration with a small team, ISO’s leadership remained dedicated to ensuring an authentic and welcoming experience.
“The ISO sets up a Haftseen display at the Cross Cultural Center on campus, allowing students and faculty to learn more about this important tradition,” Salehi said. “I just hope that this event [and] the work that ISO does helps spread the joy and the cultural richness of Nowruz to even more people in Davis and the extended area.”
Ayla Ajdari, a third-year biomedical engineering student, serves as the social media coordinator for the Iranian Students Organization and performed a cultural dance at the event. Dressed in vibrant cultural attire, Ajdari and her fellow dancers captivated the audience, embodying the celebratory spirit of Nowruz.
“Nowruz is my favorite time of the year,” Ajdari said. “One of my big goals was to show everyone what Persians love to do, which is dancing. Dancing is a big part of our culture, and I believe bringing dancing into Nowruz is a great way of celebrating [the] new year and happiness.”
Elina Sadeghian, a third-year economics and international relations double major, played a pivotal role in organizing the event as ISO’s events coordinator. She also joined Ajdari in the evening’s dance performance, helping to bring energy and joy to the celebration.
“Nowruz is a really big part of Iranian culture, so we thought, ‘What better way to bring our community together and expand our culture than a Nowruz Celebration?’” Sadeghian said. “We had so many meetings every week trying to get the venue, reaching out to performers, working with them on choreography and just organizing everything, and it was so worth it in the end. We are so happy so many members of the community have shown up.”
Ava Jabbari, a third-year international relations and environmental policy and planning double major, serves as the director of outreach. As part of her role, she has worked to strengthen ties between past and present members, ensuring that the legacy of ISO continues to grow.
“The ISO has been around for decades,” Jabbari said. “Sara Ruebelt — who is actually faculty at the university at the moment, she’s a community counselor — was a part of the ISO back when [she was a visiting scholar in the Psychology Department], which was in the early 2000s.”
The longstanding presence of the Iranian Students Organization at UC Davis speaks to the importance of cultural organizations in fostering community and preserving heritage. Over the years, ISO has provided Iranian and Iranian-American students with a home away from home, offering a space where they can celebrate their traditions, share their experiences and introduce Persian culture to the broader campus community.
With a commitment to fostering community, the ISO hopes to continue growing its presence on campus, ensuring that Nowruz remains a cherished tradition for years to come. As spring approaches and the new year begins, Nowruz at UC Davis stands as a testament to the enduring importance of tradition, unity and the celebration of new beginnings.
Written by: Jalan Tehranifar — features@theaggie.org
