■伊朗人採用波斯曆，所以新年與我們不一樣。圖為伊朗首都德黑蘭。 資料圖片【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》2019年1月2日報道︰
踏入元旦（New Year's Day），香港、美國、英國、澳洲等全球各地煙花（firework）璀璨，在街道上參與倒數（countdown）的人潮絡繹不絕，喜迎新的一年。不過在位於中東、信奉伊斯蘭教（Islam）的伊朗（Iran），當地元旦的節日氣氛則大相徑庭，遊客參觀景點或者走在街上，絲毫看不到慶祝活動、喜慶的佈置或裝飾，皆因波斯新年（Persian New Year）並非於西曆1月1日。
伊朗人採用波斯曆（Persian calendar）為主，曆法是按照太陽運行所定，今年波斯新年是3月21日，亦是當地最重要節日之一。
伊朗法定假日（statutory holiday）之中，並無西曆元旦，伊朗人於西曆1月1日仍然需要工作和上學，一切如常。當地導遊表示，政府和社會不會舉行元旦慶祝活動，只有少數人例如基督徒（Christian）才會於前日及昨日慶祝。在伊朗首都德黑蘭（Tehran）的基督徒社區，仍可見人們忙於在聖誕和除夕期間購物，街上擺放着掛滿裝飾的聖誕樹，商店櫥窗亦展示聖誕老人公仔，氣氛濃厚。
伊朗基督徒受當地文化影響，在慶祝元旦來臨時，會進食伊朗特有的食物。例如亞美尼亞裔（Armenian）會如當地人一樣，吃白魚配香料米飯（herbed rice）的波斯菜式，用果醬製作的甜點「Pirouk」和甜酥餅（shortbread cookie）等地道食物，亦大受亞美尼亞裔人歡迎。
中部古都伊斯法罕（Esfahan）坐擁世界文化遺產（world heritage site），雖然是旅遊熱點之一，但放眼當地街道、餐廳、店舖以至基督教教堂等，並無任何慶祝元旦的活動或裝飾，到當地的香港遊客可謂完全感受不到跨年氣氛。
接待不少外國遊客的Abbasi Hotel是少數可以找到西曆元旦元素的場所，門口放置「Happy New Year」（新年快樂）的橫額，酒店大堂則為住客提供數款曲奇。
身在伊朗跨年，最特別之處可能是如伊朗平常日子一樣，傳來清真寺（mosque）每早響起的祈禱聲。
Iran adopts the Persian calendar, under which fixes the New Year's Day is in March this year
【譯文】Many people in Hong Kong, America, Britain, Australia and other places across the world celebrated the New Year's Day with amazing firework displays and spectacular countdown. However, in Iran, a country which is located in the Middle East and believes in Islam, the festive atmosphere of the New Year's Day is totally different. Travelers can seldom see celebrations or festive decorations when visiting tourist attractions or walking along the streets. This is attributable to the fact that the Persian New Year does not fall on the January 1st.
The Iranians adopt the Persian calendar as their official calendar, which is made by referring to the solar cycle. This year, March 21st marks the first day of the Persian New Year and it is an important festival to the Iranians.
The statutory holidays in Iran do not include the New Year's Day in the Western calendar and people still need to work and go to school on January 1st as normal. The local tour guides said the Iranian government and the society would not hold celebrations and only a few people such as the Christians would do. In the Christian community of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, people were busy shopping during Christmas and New Year's Eve, and it was often observed with elegantly decorated Christmas trees placed on streets and adorable Santa Claus dolls displayed in shop windows.
Iranian Christians are influenced by the local culture and would eat Iranian food when they celebrate the New Year's Day. For instance, the Armenians would have the Persian herbed rice with white fish, and the Iranian desserts such as the "Pirouk" made with jam and the shortbread cookies are also very popular among the Armenian nation.
Esfahan, an ancient city in central Iran with numerous world heritage sites, is one of the famous tourist hotspots in the country. Yet, there were not many activities or decorations in streets, restaurants, stores and even Christian churches to celebrate the New Year's Day, making it hard for tourists coming from different places such as Hong Kong to feel the festive atmosphere throughout the town.
The Abbasi Hotel, receiving many foreign tourists, is one of the few places where elements of the New Year's Day could be found. The banner of "Happy New Year" was placed at the hotel entrance and several cookies were provided for guests in the lobby.
Perhaps the most special thing of experiencing New Year in Iran is listening to the distant praying sounds from mosques in the early morning as usual.■龐嘉儀
Exercise
1. 除伊朗外，還有哪個國家使用波斯曆？
2. 波斯曆每周是從什麼時候開始和結束？
3. 波斯新年或春節又稱為什麼節日？
4. 伊朗人所信奉的伊斯蘭教，與另外哪兩個宗教並稱世界三大宗教？
5. 伊斯蘭曆的第九個月是為哪個傳統習俗？
Answer
1. 阿富汗（Afghanistan）
2. 每周從星期六開始，並在星期五結束
3. 納吾肉孜節（Nowruz）
4. 佛教（Buddhism）、基督教（Christianity）
5. 齋戒月（Ramadan）