Norooz Article Series #6: Aidee

Norooz is gift time and kids are always excited to count their aidee. Aidee derives from the Arabic word Aid (also spelled Eid) which means feast. In Arabic, holiday names always begin with the word Aid such as Eid-ul-Fitr, the feast at the end of Ramadan. In Iran the word Aid is used to mean the same thing and often Norooz is referred to as Aid-e Norooz or just Aid given that it is the principal holiday of the year. Aidee is the money given from and older person to a youger person and sometimes from the rich to the poor for Norooz. Norooz gratuities are considered aidee. Usually, when kids go to see different family members during Norooz, they recieve Aidee. During Norooz, children gather their Aidee and spend it on something special. What they spend it on must be special because the money they spend is not just any money, it's Aidee.
My mother recalls an Aidee experience from her childhood in Tehran. . .

I used to love the movies so, I would get my aidees and in one day I would go and see at least two or three movies with two or three friends. At the time I loved Norman Wisdom and Jerry Lewis because I loved comedies. My cousin loved scary movies, but I didn't. She would go and see comedies so that I would go and see a scary movie with her. Some relatives gave us gold coins [Called rob-e Pahlavi. 21 karat gold coins with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's profile engraved on them.] but in a way we liked the money that was worth much less because we could go to the movies with it. I would also buy paint. Nobody else supported my painting so I had to buy it with my aidee.