Iranians Bring Park Alive on Special Day
By SEEMA MEHTA
Los Angeles Times
Thursday, April 5, 1999
Spring has finally arrived in Irvine.
True, the first day of the season was March 21. But around William R.
Mason Regional Park, spring doesn't really begin until the air is thick
with the smoky smells of exotic foods and the sounds of traditional music
that accompany the celebration of an Iranian holiday. Sunday, more than
10,000 people came to the park to observe Sizdeh-Beder.
Although the holiday is rooted in an ancient Persian religion, Sizdeh-Beder
is a cultural celebration for Iranians of all faiths. Families and friends
gather at parks, beaches and other outdoor spots to renew relationships,
sing, dance and feast.
The holiday has been celebrated at Mason Park for decades, beginning
as an informal gathering of friends, and it has grown into the largest
Sizdeh-Beder celebration outside Iran.
Last year's celebration was marred when three Iranian men and two juveniles
attacked five non-Iranians, according to police. But police and parks officials
called it an aberration from what is generally a tranquil, family-oriented
event. In past years, Sizdeh-Beder has drawn more than 30,000 people, and
this year, it coincidentally fell on Easter, another of the park's busiest
days.
"It's been very peaceful and very friendly," said Parker Hancock,
the supervising park ranger. "This is a wonderful event."
Park officials said they discouraged celebrants from coming to the park
this year because of the convergence of Sizdeh-Beder and Easter. In addition,
the county doesn't issue permits to park vendors on the five busiest days
of the year, which includes Easter, another factor that could have kept
the crowd down.
Sizdeh-Beder, which officially is today, comes 13 days after the Zoroastrian
New Year, the first day of spring.
Because the number 13 is seen as unlucky, Persian tradition calls followers
outside on this day. "When you come back home, you're cleansed and
you're fresh," explained Hamid Alavi of Mission Viejo.
* * *
Alavi's family--his wife, Soheila; and their daughters, Nasean, 10,
and Nina, 4--laid out blankets by the lake in Mason Park. Soheila Alavi
had prepared Ash Reshteh--a soup of herbs and Persian noodles--and their
friends were bringing steamed lamb and Baghali--green rice with lima beans.
"Everything's green," Soheila Alavi said of the cuisine. "It's
symbolic of spring."
She said the celebration helps inject Iranian culture into her daughters'
lives.
Another woman, Farzaneh, who didn't want her last name used, said her
son Arash came to the park hours earlier than the rest of the family. "He
couldn't sleep last night--he was so excited," she said.
Nearby, Bibiha Hamidi pushed her nearly year-old son around in a stroller.
The Afghani woman, who wore a lime green punjabi--a flowing shirt that
almost reaches the knees and matching pants--and scarf tied around her
head, said she comes to Mason Park every year to enjoy time with her family
and good food.
Although the holiday is primarily Iranian, other Middle Easterners,
such as Iraqi Kurds, celebrate it.
Single adults also use the gathering to look for romance. Folklore says
single women who tie a knot in a strand of grass on this day will not be
alone by next year's Sizdeh-Beder.
"Young people see if they see anyone they like," Soheila Alavi
said. "They find dates."
Los Angeles residents Parisa Pejman, 18, and Marjam Tehrani, 22, couldn't
find grass long enough to tie into a knot. With platform shoes and perfectly
made-up faces, the cousins walked around the lake, carrying sprigs of white
flowers and scanning the clusters of young men.
"It's a traditional gathering, but I'm mostly here for the guys,"
Tehrani said.
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