Nashmilsadat

Mobasseri

BREATIVITY

Since none of my teammates showed up so I did this assignment by myself.

I am originally from Iran and since other cultures have less information about Iran’s culture and traditions, I decided to combine one of the best

Iranians’ traditions which is not much known for foreigners with this assignment.

I hope you can get to know and enjoy it as much as we do.

Welcome to Iranian new year’s table

Little bit of a history

Persian new year or Nowruz is 21th March every year which is coincides

exactly with the first day of the spring based on the Persian calendar.

Iranians believe that new year is a new start, the spring is the start of a

new lifecycle and the rejuvenation time.

This tradition has been celebrated over 3000 years by Persians and

related cultural continent.

In 2010 UN’s general assembly recognized International day of Nowruz as

spring festival of Persian.

To celebrate Nowruz, Iranian’s family gather together around Persian

new year’s table or Haft Sin (translated to seven S), count down the new

year’s seconds and visit one another.

Haft Sin is the subject of my assignment.

Before I explain more, here are some pictures from our own Haft Sin

made different years.

Why we call it Haft Sin or “Seven S”?

There are seven things on this table that start with “S” (of course in Farsi, e.g.

apple is Sib, coin is Seke, Somagh is a Persian word which is the same in English,

Vinegar is Serke, the green grass called Sabze and etc.). The table is designed

with Apple, Garlic, Samanoo(Kind of dish prepared from the juice of germinating

wheat), Vinegar, Sea-buckthorn Coin, Green grass and Somagh (that start with

“S”) and some other stuff such as fish, Hyacinth, Quran, Candle, Mirror, Syrian rue

or Esfand and colored eggs (as many as the family members).

I have to say all of the objects included in this table symbolized something even

those that don’t start with “S”; for example, Samanoo and apple symbolized

fertility, grass or Sabze symbolize freshness and the connection of the human

being with the nature, Sea-buckthorn symbolize love, Somagh and Garlic

symbolize happiness and spice of life, Coin symbolize blessing and money, egg

symbolize creation, Mirror symbolize brightness and transparency in life, Quran is

holey book and…

Said it all, here is the bread, traditional Iranian bread called Lavash.

In Iranian culture bread symbolize food and blessing. Thus, very close to our

heart, we respect it indeed. We try not to waste it, even the left overs are given

to birds

For this assignment I decided to use bread as the container of the Haft Sin elements.

The reason is after the new year, after thirteen days we give all these elements to

the running water. This symbolize that the running water take all of the good

influences of these elements and keep them running in our lives all year around. So

why not adding the bread to these elements to have food and blessing in addition to

all aforesaid running in our lives and no waste from the Haft Sin.

Of course these are not all

the elements of the Haft Sin

since some of them are not

available.

Esfand

Somagh