 the Semeni and candles are lit, one for each family member. Other traditions that characterize the festivities include painting colorful eggs (similar to Easter), baking delicious deserts such as pakhlava and shekerbura, and preparing a variety of national dishes.
For children, aside from bonfires, the most exciting part of the Novruz holiday is papaq atti, “throwing hats”. Children throw their empty hats onto their neighbors’ doorsteps and quickly hide to patiently wait for their treats. The owner of the house usually fills the hats with sweets, pastries, dried fruits, and sometimes little toys.
An accessory that every house must have for this holiday is a Khoncha: a three-story porcelain tray with pastries, dried fruits, nuts, and dyed eggs.
In the evening on 21 March, all family members gather at home for dinner to eat a traditional dish called plov (rice dish) and celebrate the Bayram (holiday). In some parts of the country where old customs prevail, on the last night of the old year, family members sprinkle water on each other, a custom symbolizing the “washing off” of all the hardships of the old year.