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    For Afghan Immigrants, Nowruz Celebrations Of Spring Are A Taste Of Home

    Celebrating this ancient festival was banned under the Taliban. For refugees and immigrants in America, the holiday and the feasts that accompany it are an important cultural link to Afghanistan.
    by Eileen Guo Mar 21, 2017 3 minutes
    Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is a celebration of the start of spring marked through large parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. Above, a Nowruz <em>haftseen</em> table, laden with <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/20/471174857/nowruz-persian-new-years-table-celebrates-spring-deliciously">seven items</a> meant to symbolize rebirth or renewal.

    If you saw any people leaping over fires, grilling fragrant kebabs or holding elaborate picnics this weekend, you may have witnessed celebrations of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which marks the start of spring across large parts of the Middle East and Central Asia.

    Nowruz is often associated with the Iranian community, but it is also popular among Afghans, among others. And though the holiday officially falls on Tuesday, March 21, this year, many Afghan immigrants and refugees in the U.S. took advantage of its proximity to the weekend and celebrated it early in community centers,

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