Wish a happy Nowruz to all those celebrating around the world. We hope the new year brings you happiness, health, wealth, and prosperity.
Nowruz means “New Day” in Persian and is the most important ancient festival of the year in Iran based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar. It is also celebrated in several other countries across the Middle East (ME), Central Asia, South Asia, the Balkans, East Africa, and beyond. It shows the enriched civilization of Iran with at least 3 thousand years. Wherever it is observed, it celebrates the original message of rebirth and renewal.
People prepare a special table in their homes, where they place small dishes holding seven symbolic foods and spices. The names of these foods all start with the letter ‘s’ in Persian and so the table is called the ‘seven s’ (haft-seen). The dishes generally contain wheat or bean sprouts (‘Sabze’), vinegar (‘Serke’), apples (‘Sib’), garlic (‘Sir’), a wheat-based pudding called ‘Samanu’, a red spice called ‘Sumac’, and ‘Senjed’, a kind of wild olive. The other symbolic objects include goldfish, painted eggs, candles, and a mirror. The sevens symbolize life, love, health, and prosperity.
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