We moved to America in 1972 and soon discovered that being the only Iranians in town did not make for much of a Nowruz celebration. My parents were not particularly festive to begin with (“Everyone has a birthday. No need to make a big deal”). But it was especially challenging to feel excitement for a celebration that fell on a Tuesday between a dentist appointment and basketball practice.

No one in America cared about the first day of spring. This most revered moment in the Iranian year meant literally nothing here. We had no relatives to visit, so Nowruz was withered down to one essential element: calling our relatives in Iran. In the early 1970s, this was a very expensive venture. At the sound of her family’s voices, my mother always started to cry, leading my practical engineer father to suggest that she should try crying before the phone calls so that we didn’t have to pay for it. (Note to husbands: Do not suggest this.)

In the early ’80s, many Iranians arrived in the United States. Their hearts brimmed with gratitude and trepidation as they tried to navigate this new land while clinging to fragments of their past. They brought with them recipes, music and tradition. Nowruz slowly came back to life for my parents. Banners showed up in Los Angeles wishing everyone a Happy Nowruz. Some politicians even made a point of offering Nowruz greetings. My mother started setting a haft sin again.

Then came 2017, and one night, while lamenting the deeply divided nature of this country, I had an epiphany. Every immigrant group has given something to this country, and we Iranians are here to present you, dear America, with Nowruz. Here is a holiday that asks only one thing of you — to have hope. It has been around for thousands of years. There is no controversy associated with Nowruz. No indigenous people were displaced, no wars were fought, and no one died for us to have this celebration. Unless winter comes up with some sordid revelation about spring, we are in the clear. While it is true that Nowruz has its origins in Zoroastrianism, one of the first monotheistic religions, who is going to argue with a religion whose maxim is “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds”?