One of the greatest things about being a Canadian is that you get to celebrate all the happy events coming from your culture and other cultures. I am a Canadian who was born in Iran, so we not only celebrate Christmas and New Year on January 1st, we also celebrate the Persian New Year.
In Canada every event such as this one is yet another excuse to get together with friends and have a great time, regardless of what race or culture they are coming from.
Norouz means “The New Day” which is basically the celebration of first day of sprint according to the Persian calendar. Some believe that celebration of Norouz goes back to more than 15000 years ago with pagan origins. ( Who thinks earth is only 6000 years old? )
Norouz is not really a religious event, although in many families in Iran it has been tainted by Islamic elements such as the Qoran book. Reality is that government of Iran has been trying so hard to make Norouz less significant compare to other Islamic religious events. In fact many people still get arrested for celebrating the “Chaharshanbe Suri” ( Celebration of the night before the last Wednesday of the year ) which involves making fire and jumping over it. These were all events that date back long before the time Arabs took over Iran over 1400 years ago, and force people to convert to Islam.
Celebration of Norouz and last Wednesday of the Year have strong roots in the hearts of Persians and no religious government can make those traditions disappear.
What you see in this picture is the “Haftsin Table” ( The Seven S table ). That means there are at least 7 elements present which their names start with letter “S” in Farsi. The items symbolically correspond to seven creations and holy immortals protecting them, for example:
- Sib: Apple symbolizes beauty, health, and Paradise, ( or Pardise in Farsi )
- Sir: Garlic is for health, medicin and a way to keep the demons away
- Senjed: the dried fruit of the oleaster tree symbolizes fertility, love and sex
- Sabzeh: Green Grass is the symbol for Nature in Spring
- Samanu: a persian Sweat desert made from weat is the symbol of sweetness of life
- Sekeh: Coin is the symbol of prosperity and wealth
- Somaq: sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
- Serkeh: Vinigar is the symbol of age and patience. Some believe that Wine was originally used, but after the attack of Muslem Arabs, Vinigar was used, since drinking wine is prohobited in Islam. In our family we use both.
Other present symbols are:
- Fish: is the symbol of Life on Earth
- Decorated eggs: fertility
- Orange in Water: Planet Earth floating in the space ( Yes they have known it long before Gallileo )
- Mirror: is the symbol of light
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