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Mar 25
Wednesday
Scene and Heard, World, other
Nowruz – the Persian New Year – Celebrated in Teheran

Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak! Happy New Year!

The Teheran shamatha group celebrated Nowruz – “New Day”, the Persian new year – this week. We received some photos from our friends in Teheran on the first day of spring which they offer to you in the spirit of new beginnings, peace and prosperity.

According to scholar Iraj Bashiri,

Nowruz “is organized according to the dynamics of love between the Creator and his creation, the material world. The annual return of the spirits of the departed to their homes is celebrated by their offspring…In the mind of Iranians, the word nowruz invokes colorful images which are sumptuous, elegant, and opulent as well as delightfully simple, refreshing, and cordial.

“Although colored with vestiges of Iran’s past, the Nowruz celebration is neither religious nor national in nature, nor is it an ethnic celebration. Jewish, Zoroastrian, Armenian and Turkish Iranians and Central Asians celebrate the Nowruz with the same enthusiasm and sense of belonging. Perhaps it is this very universal nature of the message of Nowruz that speaks to its wealth of rites and customs as well as to its being identified as the unique fount of continuity of the Iranian culture.”

The coordinator of the Teheran group sends this message, “I wish this beautiful Spring would bring a breeze of joy and openness to our country and to the whole world!”

The group opened Nowruz with a Haft-Sin table, one of the major traditions of Persian New Year. The table of offerings includes seven specific items starting with the letter ‘S’ or Sin in the Persian alphabet:

1. sabzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth
2. samanu – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence
3. senjed – the dried fruit of the oleaster tree – symbolizing love
4. sîr – garlic – symbolizing medicine
5. sîb – apples – symbolizing beauty and health
6. somaq– sumac berries – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
7. serkeh – vinegar – symbolizing age and patience

The group also celebrated Shambhala Day with a lively gathering and feast. We regret that we cannot share, at this time, photos of the group or their faces.

For more information on the Teheran shamatha group, contact us here.


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