Celebrating Nowruz – The Persian New Year 

Nowruz is celebrated on March 21st.   Nowruz means “New Day” in Farsi and it marks the Persian new year for many countries living along the Silk Road such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, India and more. This beautiful holiday also marks the first day of spring. The beginning of spring has spiritual significance because it symbolizes the blooming of light after going through the dark and wintery months. Nowruz is celebrated with family gatherings, food, poetry, singing, dancing, storytelling and cultural customs over a course of 13 days. You can read more about Nowruz here. 

Nowruz Music and Dance 

It’s Friday!! Are you ready to have some fun and dance to Persian music? Get dressed in your favourite outfit, grab your paper crowns and let’s get ready to have a dance party. This movement activity will have children being physically active by engaging their fundamental movement skills.  

What You will Need 

 

Engaging with Your Child 

Invite your child to take a moment to appreciate and celebrate the diversity within our community. Watch the recommended videos to learn, celebrate and have fun dancing with the paper crowns you made yesterday. Celebrating Nowruz is a great opportunity to inspire your child’s creativity, self-expression and engage their fundamental movement skills. 

Invite your child to wear their crown and encourage them to dance to the upbeat music and choreograph a dance routine. Ask your child “How will you dance to this music?”. You can encourage your child to dance by making your own dance moves and also by imitating their movements. This may encourage them to show you more of their creative moves. Shake different body parts and have fun dancing while appreciating the beats in the music. Happy Dancing!