March 1st to me always means one thing: the month during which outside of Iran Norouz takes place. For those of us who live in Southern California, or other places with similar climate, we don’t get to see much of the changing of seasons. However, there are subtle little signs here and there . In my case some time around mid January my garden begins to come to life. My spring flowers begin to sprout out of the ground and by mid February my garden is in full bloom.

I can’t tell you how happy this new development in my garden makes me because I am absolutely a horrible gardener. I have all the best intensions but keeping plants alive is not exactly one of my strongest skills. Nevertheless, it’s exciting to see all these flowers that I planted years ago come back and greet us with their beauty every late winter.

Specifically, the fragrance of my Jasmine flowers takes me right back to evenings in Iran. Whether one walked down the street or simply sat in the garden in the evenings, there was this amazing omni present scent of Jasmine flowers.

For me it’s these little signs that remind me that spring is right around the corner. Most importantly, my blooming flowers remind me that Norouz is around the corner. March 1st is my reminder, calendar or date wise, that our new year is a couple of weeks away. Therefore, it is time to begin spring cleaning, get the Sabzeh started, and think about what to post here on MPK for Norouz!

We are officially 18 days aways from Norouz. Saleh Tahvil, the moment we transition from Winter into Spring takes place on Thursday, March 20th at 8:27:07 PM Tehran time.  You can find the exact time based on where you live at FarsiNet.

For all of you, what reminds you of Norouz being close?