HAPPY NOROOZ AND SPRING CELEBRATIONS

March 20^th of 2014 is the first day of spring which marks the Persian New Year. It is also called NOROOZ which means “a new day” in Persian language. At this time families gather around a traditional table setting called Haft-Seen to observe the rituals of spring season which is celebrated in many countries.

At the spring Equinox, when the sun is at zenith over the Equator, days are close to 12 hours long and get longer as the season progresses. Spring and “springtime” refer to the season and also to the ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, and growth.

The last Wednesday evening of the year is called Wednesday Light when bonfires are lit and people jump over the fire saying a purification rite. This is an ancient Persian-Festival dating back to 1700 BCE.

Wednesday Fire Jumping

The traditional table setting called Haft-Seen in Persian language means seven items that their name starts with the letter “S”. Every item has a significance of its own symbolizing something very special. The items are found on every traditional Haft-Seen table around the world. The items and their significance are listed below, and as you can see there are more than seven items in my list but we should not have less than that.

1.      Sabzeh meaning sprouts of lentil, wheat or combination of other kind of seeds that we can grow in a dish. sprouts represent rebirth.

 2.      Seeb meaning apple which symbolizes health and beauty

3.      Senjet which is the dry fruit of Lotus tree and symbolizes love

4.      Seer meaning garlic which symbolizes medicine

5.      Sumac berries which symbolize sunrise

6.      Samanoo which is a wheat germ pudding and it symbolizes new life.

7.      Sekkeh meaning coin which symbolizes affluence

8.      Serkeh meaning vinegar which symbolizes age and patience

9.      Hyacinth flower which symbolizes constancy

10.   Gold fish swimming in water symbolizing life.

11.  Painted Eggs which represent spring celebration

12.  Mirror which symbolizes the sky and light.

13.  Candles which symbolize fire

14. Cookies which symbolize sweetness of life

We can have other decorative items such as all kinds of beautiful flowers or anything that adds to the beauty of the table. The traditional food of New Year’s Day is a special kind of vegetable rice and white fish.