Bruce Whealton: Existential Writing

So for us in America, spring is coming.  In another place, so far away, the Persian New Year approaches.  It is called No Rouz.  There is a great tradition of 12 days of celebration, being with family and gift giving.  On Wikipedia, it is spelled Nowruz, meaning “New Day” – that is the name for the Iranian New Year and corresponding traditional celebrations.  Nowruz is widely referred to as the Persian New Year.

Continuing from Wikipedia.org:

Nowruz and the spring equinox

The first day on the Iranian calendar falls on the March equinox, the first day of spring. At the time of the equinox, the sun is observed to be directly over the equator, and the north and south poles of the Earth lie along the solar terminator; sunlight is evenly divided between the north and south hemispheres.

So, this is now a time that has greater meaning for me than in so many past years.  Yet, we will be apart, my wife and I, on this time of celebration.  Sometimes it seems there is Nietzsche’s void that separates us and at other times, I think of Victor Frankl who penned the book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.”  He was writing from a concentration camp…  and somehow, without knowing where his wife was, as they were separated, he could feel a connection to her.

Pictured left “Sofreyeh Haft Seen”. These things represent good fortune for the coming year: health, posterity, happiness, well-being, and prosperity.  This image is taken from the website: Culture of Iran: No-Rooz, The Iranian New Year at Present Times