This past weekend would have normally been a festive time of year for Muslims and Iranians in the United States , with Nowruz and Eid Al-Fitr falling on the same weekend.
This year, however, with wars on Iran and Lebanon, along with regional turmoil, the holidays have been far from festive for those with loved ones and ties to the Middle East.
"I am an Iranian American, so this year has been very difficult," Leila Namvar, a resident of southern California, told The New Arab . "Usually in Nowruz, we celebrate and have a group call with our family back in Iran . We wish people a great year and peace and tranquillity. This year, we're not able to do that. We're not able to call. We're not able to celebrate," she said, referring to the near-total telecom and internet blackout in Iran since the war began on 28 February.
Since the airstrikes began over three weeks ago, more than 3,230 Iranians have been killed, according to the US-based rights group HRANA (Human Rights Activists in Iran). Since 2 March, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than a thousand and displaced more than a million people, according to the country's Ministry of Public Health. At the same time, the occupied West Bank is seeing a rise in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians, a trend that has often been overshadowed by news on Gaza, and now Iran and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, many people who would have travelled for the holidays to see family have been unable to do so because of flight cancellations across the region. In addition to the war in the region, the holidays have been marred by US President Donald Trump's hardline crackdown on immigrants. Namvar, who works pro bono as a translator for Iranian asylum seekers, said that a man who was being held in detention told her he didn’t know the Persian New Year had passed.
"Sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face and not cry," she said.
Both Nowruz and Eid Al-Fitr are considered among the most joyful holidays in the Middle East. Nowruz marks the Persian New Year, the beginning of spring and is a celebration of nature. Eid Al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and is often celebrated with gifts. For Teyebeh Malakoutian, an Iranian American, whose children are half Palestinian, the holidays this weekend were unusually subdued. This year, her mother did not gather the family together for Nowruz. She is also not planning on attending the annual public celebration on the thirteenth day of the holiday at a local park, largely due to tensions with right-wing members of the Iranian diaspora. For Eid, her daughter made a simple Eid Mubarak card to decorate the kitchen and honour those in Palestine and Iran.
Malakoutian says it is difficult to celebrate Eid with Israel's ongoing wars, especially with over two and a half years of war in Gaza .
"The pain continues," she said.