Download - breativity
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