Iranian Americans Observe Nowruz Amid Somber Mood Following Deadly Crackdown

After thousands of Iranian demonstrators were killed in a January crackdown, Shima Razavi Gacek wanted to keep alive her family’s favorite springtime holiday traditions but didn’t feel like throwing her annual house party with a roaring bonfire ahead of Nowruz — the Persian New Year. Instead, the 46-year-old Los Angeles resident organized a vigil Tuesday night at a local park, displaying photos of protesters who were killed and inviting dozens of Iranian Americans to light candles and take turns hopping over tea lights in a version of Chaharshanbe Suri, a traditional fire-jumping ritual.

“It is such a beautiful and joyous time of year,” Razavi Gacek, who has lived in the United States since she was five, said. “This year, it’s not, but we need our community more than ever.”

Across the United States, Iranian Americans marked Nowruz this year with a blend of somber reflection and traditional celebrations, including flowers, music, and dancing. Many communities canceled public festivities following the violent crackdown in Iran, while others adapted celebrations to honor victims and provide support to community members.

The holiday, whose name means “new day” in Farsi, aligns with the spring equinox and has roots in Zoroastrian tradition dating back thousands of years. Nowruz is observed in countries from Afghanistan to Turkiye, and by Iranians of diverse religious backgrounds, despite occasional discouragement from the hard-line Iranian regime. In the U.S., Los Angeles hosts nearly a third of the country’s 750,000 Iranian Americans, while Nashville is home to the nation’s largest Kurdish community.

Many planned celebrations were canceled this year. In New York, elderly members of the Long Island Ladies Association called off their annual gathering at a suburban mall, citing grief over events in Iran. “People are not in the mood to celebrate the New Year,” said Marjan Khalili, president of the group. Similarly, the Orange County Iranian American Chamber of Commerce canceled its party and partnered with a local mental health clinic to assist members dealing with war-related stress and challenges in communicating with relatives in Iran.

Some organizations chose to continue Nowruz traditions with modifications. At New York University, the student-run Persian Cultural Society held a vigil with speeches and poetry, asking attendees to dress in black. In Los Angeles, the Iranshahr Orchestra staged a concert titled “Light Always Prevails,” featuring an Iranian female vocalist previously barred from performing after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and an Iranian-American singing in Persian for the first time.

Community leaders emphasized that celebrating Nowruz now carries a message of cultural defiance. “They want us to be quiet. They want us to shut up and don’t talk and celebrate,” said Hedi Yousefi, who organized a Norooz Bazaar in Manhattan with a memorial wall listing the names of some 3,000 people killed in January. “But we have to talk about our culture, we have to keep our tradition alive.”

At the Los Angeles park, families shared dinner around tables adorned with sprouts, fruit, and flowers. Mojan Gabbay, 50, lit a candle for the fallen protesters before hopping over a small fire for her children. “I wanted my kids to know where their roots are from,” she said. “These are your people and when you hear their pain and when you see their suffering, you feel it.”