Day 4 - Special Occasions

Iranian culture is filled with unique celebrations and festivals that showcase its rich heritage. Today, participants will explore the history of phenomenal Persian celebrations. In addition, the lesson will consist of grammar and conversation.

Grammar: Today, we will learn about the present continuous tense, including its structure and function. 

Reading: Fereydoun Vahman has written an article that explains the connection between Iranian identity and the celebration of Nowruz: نوروز، هویت ملی و دینی ایرانیان

Listening: In this podcast by BBC Persian, we will explore the origin of Yalda, also known as the birth of the sun: یلدا از کجا می‌آید

Conversation topic: How did historical festivals survive for centuries

Homework:
- Monologue: introduce your favorite national celebration, festival, or holiday.
- Review the new words and compose ten new sentences. 

Vocabulary:

Persian Transcription English
نکته nokte point
جهان jahān world
به هم‌پیوسته be ham peyvaste joined, attached
لذا lezā hence, therefore
بزرگداشت bozorgdāšt commemoration
برگزاری bargozāri holding
لزوماً lozuman necessarily
به عبارت دیگر be ʿebārat-e digar in other words
دستخوش dastxoš here: effected
تغییرات taƴyirāt changes
بر مبنا bar mabnā based on
مفاخر mafāxer sources of pride
زردشتیان zardoštiyān Zoroastrians
پاسدار pāsdār protector
منسوب بودن mansub budan to be attributed
نگاشته شدن negāšte šodan to be written
دامداری dāmdāri animal husbandry
سر و کار داشتن sar o kār dāštan to deal with something
دوام davām permanence, continuity
بقا baqā permanence
روئیدن ruyidan to grow
افسانه‌‌ afsāne fable, legend, myth
اساطیری asātiri mythological
ارواح arvāh ghosts