Ball State students celebrated the Navruz, the Persian new year, to bring in spring.
Navruz is celebrated on March 21 each year when the astrological calendar moves into the sign of Aries. This also often coincides with the spring equinox when the length of night and day are equal.
Friday's evening was consumed with Persian dancing, Persian food and learning about the Persian culture as a whole.
Farangisi Nozimzoda, Tajik international student and the event's emcee, said everyone who had part in organizing the event put a lot of work into the celebration.
"Obviously we are just students," she said. "We were improvising and sowing. We sowed all of the decorations ourselves."
To celebrate the Navruz, the students set up an entire agenda of entertainment as well as decorated the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom with afghans, carpets and even Persian dining room-like exhibits.
Persian countries being highlighted throughout the evening were Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
Around 100 people attended the celebration to learn more about Persian culture.
The evening began with Nozimzoda commencing the evening in a floral spring dress. The action is considered tradition for Navruz since it is the celebration of spring, Nozimzoda said.
"In these countries, everything is blossoming," she said. "We tried to set it up as close as possible to our homes."
The agenda included an introduction explaining Navruz and the origins of the holiday, traditional music and dancing from Persian countries, a Judo presentation and food from the cultures.
The night ended with a dance party to Persian music. Nozimzoda said dancing is a large part of the traditional Navruz celebration so a large part of the evening was devoted to just that.
The evening of events was sponsored by the Tajik Student Association and the University International Ambassador Club. The Navruz celebration was the first action of the Tajik Student Association since the club was established about a month ago.
Sophomore criminal justice major Tristan Wroblewski said he thinks it is important for students to visit cultural events to know more about the world.
"If you ever want to go outside of our country, it is good to know the people, food and accents," he said.
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