بهار، آتش، و آبجو

It’s a week of festive holidays!...at the worst possible time.

This week is festive for reasons for both American and Tajik/Iranian, and I, rather than being able to celebrate to the fullest, sadly report that this also happens to be midterm week. So while I should be studying hard, I will naturally be doing no such thing.

We’re starting today with that “Irish” (READ: American) classic, St. Patrick’s Day. Surely no one has heard of this holiday all the way in Central Asia, but with the major expat bars all having a decidedly “Irish” feel to them, there has indeed been hype over the holiday. Granted, I would never condone drinking like an American on this day, I am planning on meeting with my English classes today, at the very least to try to explain this strange holiday to all of them.

More importantly for Tajikistan, however, it’s almost New Year’s! Again! Yes, Tajikistan is the only Persian-speaking country that celebrates both the Christian/Western New Year, itself a holdover of Soviet-era secularization, and the Persian New Year, known locally as Navruz (Наврӯз). Marking the beginning of spring, Navruz is celebrated by most of the cultures of what was the “Iranian” world, and here lacks some of the traditions I’ve always associated with the holiday (haft sin table, khane tekaani “spring cleaning”), but everyone’s favorite over-the-top propaganda has gone up along Rudaki Ave. and is being played on TBC, and there’s plenty of delicious samanu (semi-sweet wheat pudding, actually much better than I’d been led to believe), so I’ll take it.

I’ll also take the lovely four day weekend that comes with the holiday.

And where’s the Iranian element. That would be this Wednesday, where we get to celebrate the holiday of Chaharshanbe Suri. How do you celebrate this holiday you ask? Fire. Lots and lots of fire. While only an Iranian (and according to Wikipedia, Kurdish) tradition, the holiday consists of fireworks, people in blackface, and jumping over bonfires singing “Zard-e man az to, sorkh-e to az man”/”My yellow (sickness/misfortune) to you, your red (health/vitality) to me.” I look forward to horribly misinterpreting this one (while still avoiding any-degree burns).

Next update: Buzkashi, or How Rugby and Polo had an Amazingly Awesome Bastard Child.

As always: Ташаккуру Худо ҳафез