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Publisher's Notes Although I spent few Now Roz holidays in Kabul, I still remember it was a day that my immediate family and extended family came together to our house to celebrate Now Roz and my dear sister Fareshta’s birthday. Each Now Roz, my dear mother told me the story of Khaleh Kam-pirak and Baba Now Roz has she baked Now Roz cookies and prepared the delicious Now Roz drink Haft-maywah. I can still hear Radio Kabul playing songs with themes of Spring and flowers. I can smell the baked cookies, and see the arrival of my aunts, uncles, and cousins wearing their new clothes. I remember the scarlet tulips and paper white narcissuses that filled our lovely house with their enchanting musk. The last Now Roz that I spent in Kabul was in 1982(1360). After the cutting of my sister Fareshta’s birthday cake, my dear sister Susan and I went to our yard drinking our Haft-maywah. I finished my delicious drink and took a sanjet (mountain ash) seed from the bottom of the clear glass and planted it in the soft ground. In a few weeks, the little seed grew and by the end of summer it resembled a tiny tree. That Fall we left Afghanistan, and to this day I still ponder if the tree has survived the war and is yielding fruit so that another little boy’s mother can make him Haft-maywah, and then he too can plant another seed in the soft ground so that it may grow to become another tree. This Now Roz we are spread around the world. With the hope that each Spring brings us, let us pursue happiness for our future and our country’s future. We must overcome the obstacles that are in our way and plant the seeds of our culture and heritage so that we may have trees that fruit for generations to come. May God be with you. Farhad Azad, Publisher Copyright © 1998 Aftaabzad Publications. All Rights Reserved. May not be duplicated or distributed in any form without permission.