Amended in Assembly March 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly February 24, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent ResolutionNo. 2


Introduced by Assembly Member Nazarian

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Calderon, Chávez, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Lackey, McCarty, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth,begin delete and Mark Stone)end deletebegin insert Mark Stone, Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Obernolte, Oend insertbegin insert’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Salas, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood)end insert

(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Block, Hall, Hertzberg, Leno, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak, and Wieckowski)

December 1, 2014


Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 2—Relative to the Persian New Year.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 2, as amended, Nazarian. Persian New Year.

This measure would recognize the Persian New Year celebration.

Fiscal committee: no.

P2    1WHEREAS, Nowrūz, meaning the “New Day” is the name of
2the New Year in the Persian calendar; and

3WHEREAS, Nowrūz marks the first day of spring and the
4beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. It is celebrated on
5the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually
6occurs on March 20 or the following day depending on where it
7is observed; and

WHEREAS, In Persian mythology, King Jamshid is credited with the founding of Nowrūz, while others suggest that it was founded by Zoroaster himself, although there is no clear date of its origin. Celebrating the Vernal equinox may also have been an old Babylonian tradition known before 2340 B.C.; and

13WHEREAS, Nowrūz is celebrated and observed principally in
14Iran and has spread to other parts of the world, including parts of
15Central Asia, the Caucasus, Northwestern China, the Crimea, and
16some groups in the Balkans. In Iran, Nowrūz is an official holiday
17lasting for 13 days during which most national functions, including
18schools, are off and festivities take place. Also the Canadian
19Parliament, by unanimous consent, passed a bill on March 30,
202009, to add Nowrūz to the national calendar of Canada; and

21WHEREAS, The most important activity in the celebration of
22Nowrūz is setting the “haft-seen table” which literally means a
23table of seven items that start with the letter “s.” The table often
24includes items such as sumac (crushed spice of berries), senjed
25(sweet dry fruit of a lotus tree), serkeh (vinegar), and seeb (apples);
26and

27WHEREAS, Nowrūz invites us to contemplate nature’s power
28of renewal and rejuvenation, to look more deeply, not just into the
29green world outside, but at our human nature as well; and

30WHEREAS, For the people celebrating Nowrūz, it is a time to
31appreciate their rich heritage and to move forward with hope for
32a prosperous new year ahead filled with health, wealth, love, joy,
33and success; and

34WHEREAS, According to figures from the 2000 United States
35Census, over one-half of all Iranian immigrants in the United States
36lived in the State of California. In 2000, that figure was 55.9
37percent or 158,613 residents. The states with the next largest
38Iranian immigrant populations were New York, with 17,323
39residents or 6.1 percent of the population, Texas, with 15,581
40residents or 5.5 percent of the population, Virginia, with 10,889
P3    1residents or 3.8 percent of the population, and Maryland, with
29,733 residents or 3.4 percent of the population; and

3WHEREAS, According to the 2000 United States Census, the
4largest community of Iranian descent in the United States resides
5in California, concentrated in the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills
6area. The number of people of Iranian descent in this area is greater
7than the Iranian populations in the next 20 states combined; and

8WHEREAS, The Iranian population in California has grown to
9over 200,000 residents according to the 2010 United States Census.
10However, Iranian organizations and the Iranian Community
11believes the correct number may be four times that amount; and

12WHEREAS, The Small Business Administration conducted a
13study in 2008 that found that Iranian immigrants were among the
14top 20 immigrant groups with the highest rate of business
15ownership, contributing substantially to the national economy; and

16WHEREAS, Iranian Americans have founded and served in
17senior leadership positions of many major American companies;
18and

19WHEREAS, The Los Angeles City Council designated the
20intersection of Westwood Boulevard and Wilkins Avenue in West
21Los Angeles as “Persian Square.” The first Persian business in the
22city opened in 1974 on the corner of Westwood Boulevard and
23Wilkins Avenue. Since then there has been an increase of Persian
24businesses and residents in the area. Many of the businesses on
25Westwood Boulevard, between Wilshire Boulevard and Ohio
26Avenue, are owned and operated by people of Persian cultural
27identity; now, therefore, be it

28Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
29thereof concurring,
That the Legislature joins the Persian and other
30communities throughout the state in celebrating March 21, 2015,
31as the beginning of the Persian New Year and extends best wishes
32for a peaceful and prosperous Nowrūz to all Californians; and be
33it further

34Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
35of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.



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