TOLEDO, Ohio — Members of the Afghan community came together to celebrate Nowruz - the Persian New Year, on Saturday at Glass City Metropark in east Toledo.
Nowruz (pronounced no-rooz), which is sometimes referred to as Afghan New Year or Iranian New Year signals the start of spring and is celebrated on the spring equinox.
The holiday is celebrated across religions and cultures in different ways depending on where it is being celebrated.
Celebrants in Oregon on Saturday, celebrated with different foods, activities like egg-painting and kite running and beautiful flowers.
Haft mewa, which is Persian for 'seven-fruits' was served at the event.
"The haft mewa is very popular because we don’t have fruits all season so they dry fruits. And then the last portion of the fruit is going to be soaked in water and it’s going to make a sweet dessert like this that we have here," said Salmenna Sediqe, member of the local Afghan community.
Although recent events caused this past year to be a difficult one for Afghans around the globe, organizers say Nowruz is always a time for celebration and embracing the beauty of their homeland.
"No matter what happened, let me put it this way... Afghans will come to spring, Ramadan, Eid no matter what happens today. From imposing colonialism and modernity to us, to communism and creating Taliban on us, they're still smiling at spring,” said Salmenna Sediqe, member of the local Afghan community.
Nowruz is traditionally celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan and parts of central Asia.
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