One of my favorite traditions growing up was the Persian New Year, “Nowrooz“, celebrated on the Spring Equinox. The crisp new bills older adults gave us young ones was without a doubt part of the magic, but not only.
Nowrooz has a few different components and celebrations to it, and inside the home its crux is the “Haftseen” table.
This is a setup that Persians strive to make beautiful, to welcome the new year – and year, because we are fiercely competitive and want to have the best Haftseen of everyone we know!
What is a “Haftseen”?
The term is made up of “haft”, which means “seven”, and “seen”, which is a letter of the Persian alphabet – the equivalent to our “S”.
A Haftseen is a table set up with seven items starting with the letter “S” in farsi whose symbolism contributes to bringing the things you want for yourself and your family in the new year.
What are the “Seven S’s” and what do they mean?
The classic seven items are:
- Sabzi: sprouting grass, often from lentils, a symbol of rebirth and growth
- Senjed or Sonbol: oleaster or wild olives, symbol of love, or hyacinth, symbol of Spring’s arrival
- Sumac: spice (so good!) that represents the sunrise
- Serkeh: vinegar, symbol of patience
- Sib: apple, symbol of beauty (we have that in common with the Greeks as per the whole Paris/Aphrodite/Helen of Troy legend)
- Sir: garlic, representing health and medicine
- Samanu: A sweet paste made from young Wheatgrass, symbolizing power and strength
It doesn’t stop there. Some extras often found on the Haftseen table include:
- Sekkeh: coins, for wealth and prosperity
- Saat: a clock, representing time
- Egg: for fertility
- Mirror: a symbol of self reflection
- Candle: all about enlightenment
- Book: often the Koran or poet Hafez’s Divan
- Goldfish: symbol of progress (no idea where that came from)
Revisiting traditions as a mother
Growing up, I took all the traditions around Nowrooz for granted. Between leaving home and traveling around, I hadn’t celebrated Nowrooz with more than a phone call to my father and brother – or maybe a special meal – for years.
Then I became a mother.
I realized that it was on me to transmit traditions, and more importantly, teach my daughter about her cultural roots. (My realization went beyond that and extended to music for example, but that’s a topic for a whole other post.)
So, for the past two years, I have rekindled my active embracing of Nowrooz. It’s far from perfect, but every year I try to get a bit better at it, and hopefully by the time our little human is more aware of the details, I’ll have it down to an art.
Other elements of Nowrooz
Nowrooz is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to plan ahead and grow the sabzi, and then the Tuesday before the new year is “Charchambesuri“, a time to jump over fire as a purification rite of sorts to prepare for the new year.
The Spring Equinox itself is a time for family, friends, and good food – including showing off your Haftseen and either distributing or graciously accepting those crisp new bills.
About ten days later, it’s time to go out into nature for a family picnic or hike – or both. “Sisdabedar” is the opportunity to throw your homegrown sabzi, which has been soaking up any negativity from your home, into a flowing body of water (usually a river), to ensure that the bad energy is taken away from you for a fresh start to the year.
