I really meant to blog a lot more often about Now Rooz during the actual Now Rooz celebrations, but an unexpected Spring cold has had me feeling tired and listless lately. I’ve been spelling it as it sounds: No Rooz, but most Iranians spell it Now Rooz, even though it sounds like “NO” not “NOW”
Preparations for Now Rooz start way before the actual first day of Spring, or the time of the Vernal Equinox. For at least a month or maybe more, Iranian housewives begin to literally turn their households upside down. Each room is emptied of its furnishings and the walls are scrubbed and the ceilings brushed to get any cobwebs or dust. The windows are washed inside and out and made to sparkle. One of my sisters-in-law believed the best way to do this was for two people to wash the window, one inside and one out so there would absolutely be no streaks left anywhere to be seen. Then the curtains, blinds and carpets are all washed and left in the sun to dry. Meanwhile the furniture is completely wiped, polished and cleaned from top to bottom. Any contents of drawers or closets that are not needed are discarded and everything else organized. Finally the room is put back together, fresh, clean, and pure. This is done for every single room in the house, until everything sparkles. If it is needed, this is the time when homeowners will paint, paper, or buy new furniture.
After the house is renewed, then the woman of the house turns her attention to her family. She buys a new set of clothes for each member of the house. This includes shoes and socks.
When I was a child, I can’t remember ever having seen my mother wash even one window. The concept of Spring Cleaning was one I’d read about in books, usually pioneer books. When I saw the effort and the zeal that Iranian women put into Spring Cleaning, I was hooked. I fully embraced the idea of a fresh clean start each year. My problem was that, being my mother’s daughter, I didn’t fully embrace all the work it took to get the house that clean. Our home in Iran was a very large four bedroom home with a huge living and dining area. I was always afraid of not getting my house clean on time. I would start at the beginning of February and usually pull out the 3 bedrooms at the back in a frenzy of cleaning that lasted about two days. Then on to the living room, kitchen, and last, the bathroom. Sometimes I would get lucky and two or three of my sisters-in-law would happen by and roll up their sleeves and help me. I would never actually ask them for help though, because I didn’t think I would be able to reciprocate. I worked, played basketball (my guilty pleasure), and liked to do other things with my time besides cook and clean. I rarely had free days when I could just meander over to their homes and spend a day helping them scrub. I did make an effort to help with my mother-in-law’s home, because it was culturally expected that the wives of married sons help their mother-in-laws out. They were always ready to lend a helping hand to me, however, and I was always glad and grateful when they did, even if they did arrange the furniture to their liking, not mine.
My early start for fear of not finishing usually had the effect that I would be finished with my Spring Cleaning long before everyone else. Then visiting female relatives would lament, “Oh, you’re so lucky, you are already finished, I’m just getting started. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish in time.” I would feel relived and a little smug, but I would also know they were just talking to have something to say, because they would finish, even if they stayed up till midnight to get it done. Iranian people are fanatics about cleanliness and about getting stuff done when it’s supposed to be. I learned a lot about cleanliness, housework, and discipline when I was in Iran. I wish I’d learned more.
