On the recent Spring Equinox, Iranians and Persophiles (is that a word?) everywhere celibrated "No Rooz" or Now Roos, or even...oh well, I guess it doesn't matter how you spell it. To me, spring seems like a much, much nicer time to celibrate the new year than the middle of winter does.
So what exactly is No Ruz? Where did it come from? (It's not Islamic)
Here is an excerpt from my favorite resource for learning about Persian culture."
"
No Ruz, new day or New Year as the Iranians call it, is a celebration of spring Equinox. It is the most cherished of all the Iranian festivals and is celebrated by all. This occasion has been renowned in one form or another by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Sumerians, 3000BC, Babylonians, the ancient kingdom of Elam in Southern Persia and Akaddians in the second millennium BC, all celebrated this festival. What we have today as No Ruz with its’ uniquely Iranian characteristics has been celebrated for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of Zoroastrian belief system of the Sassanian period.
The familiar concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, coming of the Messiah, individual and last judgment were for the first time incorporated into Zoroastrian belief system. They still exist in Judo-Christian and Islamic traditions. In order to understand No Ruz we have to know about Zoroastrian cosmology. "
Read the rest...
Sistani may have a point. But isn't this just a temporary step?
I certainly can see the logic in trying to encourage Iraq's new leadership to work together to gain consensus.
All of Iraq's ethnic groups have hungered for a greater say in government, for a very long time. What the nation is used to is one group grabbing power and using it to further it's own goals at the expense of others.
I'm not convinced that Ayatollah Sistani truly has the best wishes of ALL Iraqis at heart. He may very well be against the power sharing because he wants to see a Shiite president for a change.
