Nowruz - a Quick Overview

Nowruz, the Iranian and Zoroastrian New Year's day, is celebrated on March 21st - the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. It is also the first day of the Zoroastrian Khorshidi (solar) year.

As winter gives way to spring, as darkness gives way to light, and as dormant plants burst into blossom, Nowruz is a time of renewal, hope and joy.

The theme of renewal is an important aspect of the customs surrounding Nowruz - personal renewal, a renewal of friendships and a renewal of the home(.Khaneh-Tekani.)

In the month leading up to New Year's day, homes undergo thorough spring cleaning and preparations are made to set up a Nowruz table.

The Nowruz spread has a significance to Nowruz in the way a Christmas tree has to Christmas.

The spread (often on a table) contains seven items whose names begin with "s" or "sh" - depending on the tradition being followed. Included in the spread are freshly sprouted grains as a symbol of renewal and growth.

Parents often give their children new clothes and other items (sometimes money in an envelope) as gifts.

a. business knowledge
 b. market awareness
 c. hands on management
 d. sufficient capital
 e. hard work

2. If a relative ever asks me for advice about starting a business I will tell them to:

a. work for someone else in the field first
b. write a business plan
 c. study marketing
 d. give up the idea
 e. learn about budgeting

3. Which is the largest potential trouble spot:

a. too much growth
b. too little growth
 c. too fast growth
d. too slow growth
e. sporadic growth

4. I trust: (select as many as apply)

a. nobody
 b. myself
 c. my partner
 d. a few key employees
e. my customers

5. I am unhappy when my employees are:

a. late
b. unhappy
 c. abrupt with customers
 d. resigning
e. less dedicated than me

6. My customers are: (select as many as apply)

a. always right
 b. too fussy
c. demanding
 d. worth listening to
e. dumb

7. Rank these in order of importance for small-business marketing success:

a. word-of-mouth
 b. advertising
 c. signs
d. location
e. community events

8. When it comes to money I am:

a. careful
 b. too carefree
c. emotional
d. shrewd
e. hardnosed

9. Financially my firm:

a. has trouble with cash-flow
 b. has a good line of credit
c. is financed totally by receipt--no credit
d. is making better profits this year than last
e. knows exactly where it is all the time

10. In hiring people:

a. I take far too long
 b. I look for the cheapest person
 c. personality is more important than experience
d. I look for the best person, and am willing to pay
 e. I only hire at the trainee level

11. With my employees:

a. I treat everybody the same
 b. I try to talk privately to everybody once a week
 c. To whatever extent possible I tailor assignments to personalities
 d. I encourage them to talk to me about the business
 e. I try to work alongside them whenever possible

12. The real key to business success is:

a. hard work and perseverance
 b. fine products and service
 c. advertising
 d. knowing the fundamentals of business
 e. employees

13. Competition is:

a. dumb
 b. smart
 c. cunning
d. everywhere
e. a constant threat

14. The best competitive advantage is:

a. experience
 b. understanding what the market wants
 c. confidence
d. conducting a business ethically
e. a detailed plan

15. I keep:

a. careful financial records
 b. in touch with my customers
c. in touch with my employees
d. trying new techniques
e. wanting to retire

16. My dream is:

a. to grow the business until someone else can run it
 b. to work until I drop
c. to give up these headaches and have more fun at work
d. to try another business
 e. to take a vacation

17. I think business plans are:

a. for the birds
b. nice but not necessary
c. something I can do with my accountant
d. useful and informative
e. essential--wouldn't do business without them

18. What makes a terrific entrepreneur?

a. creativity
 b. discipline
 c. consumer orientation
d. technical proficiency
 e. flexibility

19. What does a business need most?

a. money
b. market research
 c. help
 d. time
e. a solid business plan

20. What is essential to marketing?

a. "a sixth sense"
b. market research
c. customer awareness
 d. experience
e. testing

. Are you working on your chosen field?

. How many hours a week do you work? 
What does your job entail? (For example, do you often travel for business, work at home, performs dangerous tasks?

. What is your dream job?

. Have you ever been called a workaholic?

. What is your retirement plan? What do you plan to do when you stop working?

. Have you ever been fired?

. Have you ever quit a job suddenly? Have you changed jobs a lot?

. Do you consider your work a career or just a job?

. Has your work ever been a factor in the breakup of a relationship?

 

http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers/...m#IPersian

Persian, Iranian [pes] (Iran.)

سلام
 salam: general greeting
 درود dorud: general greeting
 درود durud: general greeting, used in Tehran
 
خوش آمدید
 khush amadeed: general greeting
 
صبح بخیر
 sobh bekhayr: morning greeting
 ظهر بخير zor bekhayr: afternoon greeting
 
عصر بخیر
 asr bekhayr: evening greeting
 شب بخير shab bekhayr: evening greeting
 
شما چطور هستین
 shoma chetour hasten: how are you?
 
من خوبم.ممنون
 man khoobam, mamnoon: reply to شما چطور هستین
  حال شما چطور است؟ hal e shoma chetour ast: how are you?, formal
  حالتون  چطور است؟ hal e tun chetour ast: how are you?, formal
  حالتون چطوره؟ hal e tun chetoure: how are you?, formal
  حالت چطوره؟ hal et chetoure: how are you?, formal
  چطوری؟ chetouri: how are you?, informal
  چطوری؟ chetori: how are you?, informal, used in Tehran
  خوبى؟ khubi: how are you?, informal
  چه خبر؟ che khabar: what's new?
  خبری نیست khabari nist: reply to چه خبر
 خوش آمدید khosh amadid: welcome greeting

Does the thought of a hungry child make your heart ache? When you see photos of kids drinking murky, brown water from a stagnant pond, does it keep you up at night? a
!!!?Please think about this question."what is my concern?" What is the concern of people around us
When I thought about this question, I said "THANK GOD".Thank God for healthy body, healthy mind and...
?What do you say? What is your idea

The green steps of your heart in front of my eyes show me the horizon full of light and hope. I'm happy as much as this greenness. You're undying as much as this greenness. Days are short. Time is not same to us. Nights are long when we're away from each other. I think about you in my thought set and that time the time steps on the green steps of your heart. I think about the sunny short times of future. And I see a lot of green steps. Much greens in plain of being together

Peace be on you, O Abu Abdullah!
Peace be on you, O son of the Apostle of Allah!
Peace be on you, O son of the commander of the faithfuls, the forebear of the successors!
Peace be on you, O son of Fatimah, the choicest among the women of the worlds!
Peace be on you, O the select, surpassing, chosen in preference over all good of Allah, and son of Allah’s (such) good.
Peace be on you, who was martyred while fighting heroically in the cause of Allah, the son of Allah’s fearless warrior, you were isolated and had been attacked with a vengeance!
Peace be on you and on those souls who had gathered in your camp, and strided along with you, in your journey. I pray and invoke Allah to keep all of you tranquil and restful, for ever; so far I am alive, this is my prayer, and till nights and days follow each other.
O Abu Abdullah! unbearable is the sorrow, nerve-racking is the agony, you put up with,
for us and for all the (true) Muslims, crimes committed against you also shocked and unnerved the dwellers of the heavens, one and all.
May Allah condemn and damn the people who laid the basis and set up the groundwork,
to wander astray and turn aside from not only you and your family but to take liberties and bear hard upon you.
May Allah condemn and damn the people who tried to obscure and deny your office and status, willfully neglected your rank and class Allah had made know in clear terms. May Allah condemn and damn the people who killed you.
May Allah condemn and damn the abettors who instigated and had a part in your murder. I turn to you and Allah, away from them, their henchmen, their followers and their friends,
O Abu Abdullah, I pray and invoke Allah to send blessings on you. I make peace with those who make their peace with you,
I make war on those who go to war against you, till the Day of Judgement.
May Allah condemn and damn the family of Ziyaad and the family of Marwaan;
may Allah condemn and damn the group and the tribe of Umayyah, one and all, altogether;
may Allah condemn and damn the son of Marjaanah;
may Allah condemn and damn Umar son of Saad;
may Allah condemn and damn Shimr;
may Allah condemn and damn the people who bridled the horses and errected the saddles for your martyrdom. I, my father and mother are at your disposal. Profound is my sorrow for you. I beg Allah, who honoured you above others, to be generous towards me on account of you, and give me the opportunity to be with the victorious Imam, the descendent of Mohammad (blessings and peace be on him and on his children from Allah) at the time of the final and decisive war against Allah’s enemies.
O my Allah make me attend to Your cause, sincerely, in every respect following in Husayn’s footsteps, in this world and the hereafter. O Abu Abdullah, I pray and invoke Allah to send blessings on you. I come nearer and seek greater intimacy with Allah, with His Apostle, with Ameerul Moomineen, with Fatimah, with Hasan and with you, with the help of your love and patronage, cutting off every connection with those who took up arms against you and killed you. I disconnect all links with those who, in the beginning, took the first steps to take liberties with and bear hard upon you, I take refuge with Allah and His Apostle (blessings of Allah be on him and on his children), free from the guilt of associating with those who laid the foundation for (your suffering), devised and carried out their corrupt plan of action, boldly gave currency to reign of terror and cruelty to oppress you and your friends and followers; I detach myself from them and present myself to Allah and to you, I (first) seek greater intimacy with Allah and then with you to win your love and patronage, and to make friends with your friends, cut off all links with your enemies, and with those who planted the seeds of hostility against you, and reject and discard their associates, their followers and their friends. I make peace with those who made their peace with you, I search out and confront those who waged war against you, I make friends with those who stood by you, I strive against those who came in conflict with you, therefore, I make a request to Allah to acquaint (me) with the awareness that perceives you and your friends, to set me free from the corrupting influence of your enemies, to make me keep company with you in this would and in the Hereafter, stand firm beside you and follow your footsteps closely in this world and in the next world. I beseech Him that he helps me to reach your highly praised station, given to you by Allah, (to meet you), that He provides me the opportunity to fight for justice and fairplay alongwith and under the leadership of the rightly guided guide (in your progeny) who surely will come and speak the truth. I beseech Allah in the name of your right and the purpose He assigned to you, that He overwhelms me with grief in memory of your sorrows, more than the personal grief that torments any one who is in great agony, sorrows which have no parallel and overshadow all calamities that took place in the history of Islam, for that matter, through out the whole universe.
O my Allah, in my on the spot situation, treat me like him (or her) who obtains from You
(Your) blessings, mercy and forgiveness.
O my Allah, bring me to life again, after death, in the place Mohammad and his “Aal” (children) are dwelling, and make me depart from this world like Mohammad and his “Aal” (children) had left,
O my Allah this day is a day of rejoicing for the “Bani Umayyah”, the herd of hardened criminals, the eternally damned and accursed group, a fact that had been made public by You and by Your Prophet (blessings of Allah be on him and on his children), who, in every place and at all occasions, drew attention of people to this truism.
O my Allah condemn and damn Abu Sufyaan, Yazid son of Muwa’awiyah and let it be an everlasting curse upon tem from You. Today the descendants of Ziyaad and Marwan make merry, laugh and dance because on this day they killed Husayn (blessings of Allah be on him).
O my Allah, therefore, double up the curse You brings upon them and also the punishment You decrees for them.
O my Allah, I seek nearness to You today in this frame of mind, cutting off all links with them for the rest of my life, denouncing them because of my love for Your Prophet and his children, peace be on him and them.
Then again say 100 times:
O my Allah condemn and damn the first tyrant who unjustly and wrongfully usurped that which rightly belonged to Mohammad and the children of Mohammad, and bring curse upon those who, after him, followed in his footsteps.
O my Allah condemn and damn those conspirators who vexed and harassed Husayn, showed eagerness, agreed mutually, and joined hands to kill him. O my Allah bring curse upon all of them.
Then again say 100 times:
Peace be on you, O Abu Abdullah, and on those souls who came to your camp to put themselves at your disposal.
So far I am alive and the days and nights follow each other I invoke Allah to send blessings on you for ever and ever.
May Allah not make my this pledge of close association, physical as well as spiritual, with you the last fulfillment.
Peace be on Husayn, and on Ali son of Husayn, and on the children of Husayn, and on the friends of Husayn.
Then say:
O my Allah, let the curse I call down on the head of the first tyrant stick like a leech; and stay put for ever on the first, then the second, the third and the fourth.
O my Allah damn and call down evil on the fifth, Yazid son of Mua’awyah, and bring a curse upon Ubaydullah son of Ziyaad, ibna Marjanah, Umar son of Saad, and Shimr, and on the descendants of Abu Sufyaan, on the descendants of Ziyaad, on the descendants of Marwaan, till the Day of judgement.
Then go is Sajdah and say:
O my Allah! (All) praise is for You (alone); praise of the “Ever-thankful to You”, who glorify You whatever come to pass. (All) praise is for Allah for my deep-felt intense grief. O my Allah make available for me the recommendations of Husayn on the day I present myself before You, let me stand firm in safety before You on account of my sincere attachment with Husayn, alongwith him and his comrades, who sacrificed everything they had (heart, mind, soul and life) for Husayn, peace be on him.