Spring festivals bring together international students to celebrate their cultures.
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Most Americans don’t give much thought to the history of the Zodiac when perusing their horoscopes, but star signs are rooted in foreign culture — the Persian calendar to be precise.
“Have you ever thought why the zodiac signs start with Aries, and why they start on the 21st, why not first of March or first of April?” said Hashim Pashtun, a graduate student studying engineering and international student from Afghanistan. “Zodiac signs are based on our New Year. Nowruz starts on the 21st of March. That’s why the first star is Aries. And that’s why the 21st of March is the first of our month.”
Nowruz, or New Day, is the start of the Persian calendar, and celebrated by more than 100 million people in five countries like Iran and Afghanistan.
Holidays that occur in the spring like Nowruz are celebrated all over the world and have come together in Athens. With 8.2 percent of OU’s enrollment being international students, students on campus have the chance to celebrate international holidays as spring begins.
Each country celebrates Nowruz for a different amount of days. Afghanistan celebrates the New Year for three days.
“Our first day is the celebration where we have to wear new clothes,” Pashtun said. “The second day is the farmer’s day and we have a parade of farmers, and the third day is teacher’s day because our new school year starts.”
Taghi Sahraeian, president of Iranian Student Association and Ph. D student studying chemistry, said Iran celebrates Nowruz for 13 days instead of the three.
“It’s a happy time to spend with elders and children,” he said. “During the 13 days, we are going to our relatives’ houses. All need to go and visit their parents, even if you are grown and have your own family. It’s special respect for older people.”
Sahraeian said in addition to visiting family, a part of the holiday is designated for enjoying nature.
“For the 13th day, the country once considered the number 13 as bad luck. So on that day, you used to have to go outside and spend it with nature to have this bad luck not affected by us,” Sahraeian said. “A thousand years ago, this was believed, but nowadays, we just go outside to have fun and respect the nature around us.”
Because Nowruz is exactly in the middle of the semester, it is not possible for students who celebrate the holiday to go back home. ISS is hosting Nowruz at OU for everyone to celebrate on Sunday.
The word sakura means "cherry blossom" in Japanese, and many places hold festivals or events to celebrate the sakura season.
The Japanese Student Association will hold its own celebration March 22.
“Generally Sakura is important to Japanese society because in Japan, every New Year happens from April,” said Fuko Ito, a senior studying linguistics and president of Japanese Student Association. “Sakura is kind of the indicator or the messenger for us that the New Year is here.”
Ito said cherry blossom trees were given as a gift to OU from Chubu University and are located along the Hocking River.
“It symbolizes the relationship between the universities. They donate the Sakura trees every year,” she said.
The trees have been donated for more than 30 years, but do not measure up to the blossoming pink trees in Japan that can be more than 1,000 years old.
Students on campus have already celebrated some international spring holidays, either privately or with organized events.
Brazilian Carnival is parallel to the celebration of Mardi Gras in the United States. People gather to the city of New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras, as the entire country of Brazil celebrates Brazilian Carnival.
“Carnival can be pretty wild, but it’s also family oriented,” said Marco Cerqueira Gramacho, president of Brazilian Student Association. “People used to just get together, and have block parties. They hang out, and usually they play old carnival songs.”
Gramacho said in his hometown, Salvador, contributes to the many cities around Brazil that host a massive celebration for Carnival.
“In Rio de Janiero, the street carnival is getting more popular again,” Gramacho said. “They basically put a rope surrounding the area, and you have to pay. They led this big truck, and the singers were on the top of this big truck with its own speakers.”
BSA celebrated Carnival with friends since there was no way to return to Brazil for the holiday. Most Brazilian students at OU are from the Brazilian Scientific Program and usually stay for one year.
Events like the Chinese New Year and Holi Color Festival have already occurred. Both holidays denote rebirth and appreciation toward the spring.
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