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Authors: Ben K. <benk@tilde.team>
Date: 2021-03-24
Now that it has been several days since the equinox, Nowruz is essentially over. In Iran many people have returned to work, but others take the occasion to take extended time off, typically from one to two weeks. My university, for example, does not have classes during the first two weeks of the year.
The two weeks is generally approximated by another event in Iran called Sizdah Bedar (سیزده بدر), which refers to the thirteenth day of the year. It is customary for people to spend this day outdoors, and I do not know how the holiday came about (it does not exist in Tajikistan), one theory suggesetd to me by my former professor is that it is perhaps due to the seismic activity in the country. Perhaps the 13th is considered unlucky and therefore an earthquake risk according to local superstition. Of course, a simpler explanation might be that the weather is usually good. (That is, taking it in a more positive sense.) Perhaps the 13th is considered auspicious?
Either way, nobody wished me a happy Nowruz on Geminispace, which was too bad! After I wrote that post, I was contacted by a user who was concerned that I talked about another user being Iranian. I think it's my fault to be begin with because I suggested the idea that it's possible he didn't want others to know he is Iranian. After hearing back from him in the following e-mails, he let me know that it's definitely not a secret and not a problem. So, all is well that ends well.
The reason why I think sometimes people hide their nationality or choose to omit it, is that I have seen people do it in the past when they feel that the country has too low of a reputation. That wasn't the case here, I remember I used to have a coworker from Afghanistan who refused to tell anybody where he was from. I don't mean to random strangers, but us coworkers, and we saw each other every day for over a year.
OK, that was an extreme example. Usually people don't refuse to talk about it, but what's much more frequent are subtle omissions. This is kind of a stupid anecdote, but one time I bought an imported chocolate. It was alright, but it only had "Product of the EU" written no it, which made me curious what country it could possibly be from where they wouldn't just say it. I went to their website, which had this big story about the company began with the work of a master Swiss (or something) chocolatier. Finally somewhere I found a subtle indication that the company was in Romania. (Their address, of course.) Well, what's wrong with Romania? I'd have tried Romanian chocolate.
So anyway, I could go on, but you get the idea. I'm very proud of the fact that I know Persian, so as you can see I never miss a chance to let others know about it. I could get overly excited, and urge others to be as be as forthcoming as I am. ;)