« Sizdah-Bedar 2007 in Irvine »

Today, something like 65,000 Iranian-Americans lined the banks of a park in Irvine to celebrate the thirteenth day after Persian New Year, and I was there through most of it, sleeping on a blanket in the shade. All 65,000 of us had to pay at least $10 for parking.

A Persian grocery store (it's on Westwood Blvd. by UCLA) wished us all a happy new year via air message. It says, "Happy Norooz Jordan Market." Two years ago, Reza Pahlavi, Jr., the exiled prince himself, had the same idea. But his little plane said, "Happy Norooz Reza Pahlavi, Jr."

There were no kebabs for sale! People just brought their own meat. . . and teapots and Persian rugs and backgammon sets and desserts and fruits and cheese and nuts and rice and waterpipes and soccer balls and dogs that fit in purses. . .

. . . and almost every family had their own personal old school grandma with a scarf on her head. She's not mine, I just took a picture of her.

By the way, Wikipedia has pretty informative articles about the ancient Zorastrian-Persian traditions of celebrating Norooz (Norouz) and Sizdah-Bedar.