Nowrouz 1402 Persian New Year Azadeh Jafari Origins • Nowrouz means ‘New Day’ and is the name of this holiday • It has been the beginning of the new year in the Persian calendar • Since ancient times, Iran has celebrated the New Year on the vernal equinox, what we know as 20th or 21st March • This year 20th March – 21:24 marks the first day of spring • The Nowrouz holiday lasts 13 days • Nowrouz is a secular holiday, and is practiced not only in Iran, but in other countries associated with the wide spread Persian empire, such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, etc. and by Iranian populations living outside of Iran as well Preparing for and Celebrating Nowrouz • One month before – Spring cleaning, marking a rebirth for the new year • 3 weeks before – Prepare your lebase no (new clothes) • 2 weeks before – start planting your sabze (sprouts grown from beans) • 1 week before – Start gathering your sofree haft seen supplies • A couple days before – Chaharshanbe Souri – last Tuesday night before the Nowrouz – which celebrates by jumping over bonfires and following the Zoroastrianism tradition, jump over the fire and purge yourself of all the negativity of the past year. Let the fire rejuvenate and renew your spirit. Replace all the negativity with the positive vitality and rigor of the fire. Sofre Haft Seen Sofre is ‘spread’, and haft seen literally means ‘seven s’s’- this spread serves as a sort of altar to the Nowrouz holiday and is an indispensable part of the traditioneach household has its own sofreye haft seen with its own unique interpretations of each of the traditions. Generally, it’s set on the day of or the day before the holiday begins and is left as a focal point for the entire 13 days of the holiday celebrations. The Elements The details and extravagance of the spread can vary from household to household, but they all share a few basic elements. Generally, the spread occupies a table in a prominent location of the household. A nice tapestry is used to cover the table, and on it are placed different symbols of the Nowruoz holiday. The 7 S Elements • Seeb- apple, symbolizing beauty and health • Seer- garlic, representing medicine and good health • Senjed- something you might not have heard of before, the dried fruit of the oleaster tree. Apparently symbolizing love • Somāgh- sumac, the spice called sumac in English, representing the color of sunrise • Serké- vinegar, representing age and patience • Sabzé- wheatgrass, representing new life springing forth • Samanoo- sweet pudding made from wheat germ, representing sweetness and affluence. The Other Elements • Māhi- goldfish, representing life • Hafez book- although some people also put out religious texts or the shāhnāmé by Ferdowsi • āyné ō shamdoon- mirror and candlesticks, representing eternity and infinity • Tokhmé morgh- eggs, representing fertility • Sheereenee- sweets, representing sweet times to come Nowrouz Eve This year (2023), nowruz occurs at exactly 21:24 Greenwich Mean Time in the UK, where we reside. However, it occurs at the exact same moment everywhere on Earth! It’s the moment the earth passes the vernal equinox. We gather around our haft seen table with our loved ones and count down the moments to then wish our family and friends around a happy Nowrouz, by saying Nowrouz Mobarak. Haft seen 90 Cannon Street 2021 Haft seen in One Broadgate Circle 2017 Mersi.
