The Land of Smiles

 

Rukhsar Hussainy

October 2, 2022

ESLINTG 100-CE

Professor Michal Eskayo

 

Lost in Holidays

Celebrating traditional and cultural holidays keeps me thinking about my hometown and it gives me the feeling that I am home. I was born in Afghanistan. My country is one of the most traditional Islamic countries. Afghans have many good and interesting cultural holidays, and Nowruz is one of the Afghans cultural days that recently I celebrated in Chicago.  Nowruz means a new day and a new beginning. It is the first day of Afghans and other Persian countries new year. It is almost nine months that I moved to Chicago, and it has been very hard for me to find Afghan families to feel that I am in my hometown. Traditional holidays are one of the best ways to celebrate with people and meet new people, yet my tradition seems to have changed now that I am in Chicago.

Nowruz is my favorite holiday, and I am always excited to celebrate it. Three or two weeks before Nowruz, my family and I start preparing for it. We do house cleaning and plant trees and flowers in our small garden. The most important part is cooking and making special foods on Nowruz. Haft Miwa; Seven Dry Fruit is one of Afghans traditional desserts that all families prepare on Nowruz. It is mixed of seven dry fruits and nuts, which people soak in water for one or two days. After one or two days, the water become natural juice. People serve it in a bowl with a little fruits and nuts with its juice. In Chicago, my family and I didn’t do all those things even on Nowruz because I had classes and my siblings went at work and then at night whole family; my mother, siblings and sister in-law came together in dinner and celebrate Nowruz at home. In Chicago only my family prepared Haft Miwa, but no one came to eat it. Last year, I really missed my hometown and the way that I celebrated Nowruz.

In addition, my family and I were expecting this Nowruz would be the same that we had in back home, but we spent the whole day at home. My family and I grew up in a hospitable country. We love huge ceremonies, dancing, cooking special foods, wearing new cloths, and doing many other fun games on our traditional days.  In Nowruz my family and I used to visit our elder family members. My uncle is older than my father and whole family at first went to our uncle’s house to greet and celebrate Nowruz. We ate lunch with, and we went to our relative’s house.  All day my family and I talked, ate, and were happy. In Chicago we also celebrate with Afghan families, but it not interesting and enjoyable. I really missed my all families that they are in Afghanistan and our late night parties.

Finally, in the evening of Nowruz my family and I used to go and enjoyed outdoor activities. At first, we went to the mosque for praying. People believe that if at the first day of year they pray to have a good life and be happy, will happen. After praying, my family and I went to eat street food. I am a foodie and eating street food was my favorite part in Nowruz. One of our popular street foods is Shor Nakhod. It is made with boiled peas, potatoes, hot sauce and vinegar. It is so delicious and yummy. Sometimes I make it at home with same recipe, but it is not as delicious that I ate in Afghanistan streets. In Chicago, mostly I miss Afghan street foods that I never seen here. There are only a few Afghan restaurants that serve traditional food, but they don’t have street food.

When people do not live in their hometown, the feeling of being lost in translation will be a part of their life. My family and I celebrate our all-traditional days in Chicago, but it looks like there is something missing that we can’t enjoy. We are missing our families, food and the way we celebrated holidays in Afghanistan. This environment and new people in Chicago always give me the feeling that I lost in translation most.