Recommendation to receive and file a presentation in recognition of Persian New Year - Nowruz.
Thank you very much. Now we're moving on to item number ten. More communication from Councilman Price recommendation to receive and file a presentation in recognition of the Persian New Year Nowruz. Mr. Mayor. With your permission. Yes. Thank you. Well, I was trying to get myself in a position where I can show you guys. The Persian New Year have seen that I have that my mom helped cut for me, but it's very difficult for it to come through with the background. But I was hoping to share our family have seen with all of you tonight as we celebrate for the seventh year in a row Persian New Year. I know that we have a video tonight on Persian New Year. So I was hoping that we could start with that. And then I'd like to make a few comments. Nowruz is the celebration of the New Year. Celebrated by over 300 million people around the world on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox. It marks the beginning of spring and is a time of renewal, beauty and fertility in nature. Although the spelling and pronunciation of the word Nowruz varies from country to country and region to region, the word carries the same meaning. New Day. Who wins is an ancestral celebration dating back more than 3000 years. It is a reminder of the natural cycles of life and nature and promotes peace and reconciliation, fostering good neighborliness and strengthening family ties. They don't just show. No camel? No. No. Over the past several years, the Iranian-American community in Long Beach has brought the celebration of Nowruz into Long Beach City home. We have shared traditional sweet treats, tea and other cultural aspects of the Nowruz celebration, including the displays of the half sea, a symbolic table setting which includes a number of different items, each with their own meaning . Some of these items include garlic symbolizing medicine. Apple's. Symbolizing health. Lotus tree fruit symbolizing love and affection. Vinegar representing patients. A sweet wheat pudding called salmon, representing the sweetness of life. And strength. Sprouts, usually wheat or lentil representing rebirth and growth. Hyacinth flowers symbolizing the beginning of spring. For those who celebrate Nowruz, the beginning of spring also symbolically marks the end of a harsh and hard winter. We hope this spring marks the beginning of the end of the difficulties and tragedies of the past year. May Nowruz bring peace, prosperity and health to all. Thank you very much for sharing that video to our tech team. I want to thank you both for putting that video together and helping us have that presentation tonight. And I'm just so honored that we are a city that embraces the diversity of our community. And I get very happy every year to get to talk about Nowruz. So to all of the Persian community who are tuning in tonight to watch this, and I know from our Iranian-American Persian Association in Long Beach, I want to thank them for participating. We started that organization approximately seven years ago when I took office, and it's led by Mori Mustapha, who is our president. And I want to thank them for their participation and putting tonight's event together. I think it's it's a beautiful thing for us to celebrate Nowruz every year because it's such a positive part of the year for Iranian families. But it's also a very positive time of year for everyone because it's the arrival of spring. This particular year has been very special for me and the Persian community because we were not able to hold any Nowruz celebration last year and this year we weren't able to hold many of our celebrations, but we were able to to bring this event to all of you tonight. This is a year that we all look forward to in terms of optimism for our community, optimism for our state, and optimism for our country, and celebrating our connection with nature. Every single day there are so many difficulties that we all face around the world, around the country, throughout the city. But there are so many reasons for positivity and optimism. And Nowruz is about putting aside the negativity of the past, the toxic events of the past, and embracing the new year with a sense of hope and optimism . In fact, on the Tuesday night before the actual spring equinox, we have a celebration which if the fire chief is listening, please go ahead and cover your ears. But we gather and we jump over a fire, a bonfire. I'm not saying where in Long Beach that might happen, but I'm just saying I have heard about such events taking place. But it's a really big deal in the Persian community. And as we jump over the fire, we say a phrase which is, I give you the pale and sickly yellow that I have to the fire and I take from the fire the red energy, the positive energy that the fire gives, the red embers. And so it's really a sense of moving forward with optimism and hope and rebirth much, much like the spring season for for so many other religions and cultures. I want to share that. Since the outset of COVID 19, the Iranian Persian Association American Association has focused its efforts to help the Long Beach City College and CSU, all these students facing financial hardship. Our ongoing efforts have helped provide food, grocery cards and hygiene products to more than 710 students. We've also continued the educational meetings with the community on issues of voting rights, ballot propositions and immigration issues, which are very important to our community. And I'm very proud of our community for being involved in these efforts. I want to thank my council colleagues for allowing me to share this beautiful part of my background and culture with all of you. It really is a huge part of who I am and who my mother raised me to be, and I'm glad that I have the opportunity to share it with all of you and to our Iranian friends that are watching. Do Sana Aziz. No. Rose petals. Eggshell. Mama Barack. Thank you, everyone. Thank you very much, Councilwoman. And that also includes a motion to receive and filed. Our celebration. I have a second by Councilmember Ranga. On that count from Ranga. Did you have some comments? Yes. It's always an honor to celebrate Nowruz with Councilmember Price brings it up every year as we celebrate all our other cultures as well. Throughout the year in the city of all means, we are diverse and we certainly need to celebrate our diversity because that is our strength. So thank you, Councilmember, for bringing this forward every year. Those pictures were absolutely gorgeous. With this HD television that we have now in front of us, all the colors were so vibrant, but not the same as being there in life. So to you, to the Iranian community. Peace, prosperity and health. Thank you. Council member councilman's and day has. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much, Councilman Price, for this beautiful presentation. What a beautiful, beautiful meaning it has. And how fitting is it? Especially this year. So happy Nowruz to you and to all of the community. And May. May. Together we have a prosperous new year. Thank you, Councilwoman Zoro. Yes, I. I want to thank Councilmember Price for sharing. And happy New Year to you. Councilmember Price them our our party and community. That celebrates it. I'm so appreciative that you're sharing this with us in a time where it's been it continues to be a dark and challenging period. And and it's always great to learn about the different cultures and how everyone celebrates spring and New Year in the way that that each culture does. And so thank you very much. I just appreciate it right now in this challenging time to be able to. And so I wish peace and prosperity and comfort to everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Vice Mayor Richardson. Thank you, Councilmember Price. You mentioned it seven years. It's hard to believe it's been seven years since you introduced this. And it's, you know, even though we're virtual right now, that was a very informative video. I learned a lot more in this format about no rules. So rules pros look forward to next year and and even some more of the delicious treats and cookies that your mama your mother normally bring. Thank you so much. Thank you. And Council member Austin. Thank you. I just wanted to also. Join in the celebration of Nowruz. Look forward to it every year. Unfortunately, it's virtual, but I will say that the presentation was with excellent and it was educational because it went beyond the Iranian community. It explained how it was actually celebrated throughout the Middle Eastern region and how many help and how much it means to to so many people. And today, more than ever, you know, we are celebrating the new day ahead. And so happy Nowruz. Thank you. Yeah, I'll be dropping by for some cookies later. Councilwoman Allen. Yes, sir. Thank you. Councilman Pryce, this is such a wonderful video, and I did not know all those things, but, you know, love and prosperity and help. And so thank you for sharing this. And I look forward to when I get. To. When this comes back to city hall and we get to enjoy this next year. So thank you so much. That was really that was really awesome. Thank you. I'll just add also that I really enjoyed celebrating Nowruz over the last few years and getting to know the community. So thank you, Councilman Price, for always sharing such a beautiful part of your culture and of the diversity of Long Beach. Which one of the best parts I think about our celebrations is really enjoying kind of each other's traditions and cultures. And in your case, as you know, my absolutely favorite food and in fact, I think some of our colleagues would oftentimes I would we would we would have so, so, so much Persian food that you and I think were or enjoyed it maybe more than than most folks. It was so often when we were all gathered together. And I also, of course, I'm very grateful to your mom and all the sweets that happen every single year and look forward to those next year. And the best part I think, about Nowruz is really the opportunity for renewal and for a new start and a new day. So I love I love that part of it. So thank you all. And with that, there is not public comment, I believe, on this item. There might be one actually. Madam Court, do we have a public comment on this item? There is no public comment on this item. Okay, then we will go ahead and go to a vote. District one. I district to. I. District three. I. District four. Hi. District five. I. District six. I. District seven. I. District eight. Hi. District nine. All right. Ocean carries. Thank you. Let me go ahead and go ahead and start with we're going to do items 14 through 18/1, which are some staff items, and then we'll go back to some of the Fed pledge and other items after those.