Nowruz, the tipping point of the year. A fish to celebrate.

Today is the spring equinox and I feel that of all the New Year dates we are celebrating, this is the one that resonates most with me. Tipping the scales from darkness to light, such an ancient and unmissable moment in the year. 

No wonder #Nowruz - the Iranian and central Asian New Year, which is on the equinox - can be traced back to ancient Babylonian times. I can't imagine a culture that didn't mark this day, and just about every tradition has a festival or significant calendar moment that is on, or calculated from, the vernal equinox. The next few weeks are busy ones for #cookingtheyear!

I made Sabzi Polo Mahi, and a meat-free Gormeh Sabzi (with kidney beans and black eyed beans, I can't forget that the latter are a good luck New Year food in the southern US and elsewhere, probably originatingfrom Africa) for the vegetarian. A whole fish is essential for New Year in so many traditions. Claudia Roden gives some interesting tidbits of magical lore about fish in Arab and North African culture. In southern Spain a whole fish served on saffron and parsley dressed, thinly sliced and baked potatoes, traditional for New Year, feels like a very similar dish to Sabzi Polo Mahi and I wonder if you can link across from the Arab rule in Spain to this Iranian dish. In China a whole fish is required too. 

I would love to know more about where the fish symbolism comes from. One to read up on.