20 March 2024
A FAN Group meets at Cardiff Central Library Hub on Saturdays and Mondays at 2pm. This week we learned about the Iranian or Persian celebration of New Year - Nowruz from our Iranian friend Parissa. This year Nowruz takes place on Wednesday 20 March 2024. Nowruz can be traced back to the Zoroastrianism era and symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil. It coincides with the beginning of Spring.
A key part of Nowruz is the creation of a Haft-Seen Table or the tradition of Haft-Sin. This is a carefully arranged table comprising at its heart seven items that start with the letter 'S' in Persian. These are Sabzeh (wheatgrass grown in a dish), Samanu (sweet pudding made from wheat germ), Senjed (sweet dry fruit of the lotus tree), Serkeh (Persian vinegar), Seeb (apple), Seer (garlic) and Somaq (sumac). These are symbols of strength and justice, age and patience, health and beauty, the cleansing of the body and environment, wisdom and rebirth, and rejuvenation.
Parisa had carefully created a Haft-Seen Table for the rest of us to experience. In the photos you can see Parisa and some of our other attendees at our delightful meeting from Eritrea, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, and Wales and England. We all enjoyed learning about this ancient Persian tradition (as well as tasting some of the lovely delicacies featured on the table).