Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown Local 2022 #5/25 - Glow

 

Nowruz celebration - artwork  from  Pinterest

In my quest to sight local festive celebrations, I didn't expect to find out about Nowruz which is the Persian word for 'new day', a celebration which marks the coming of Spring. 

Last week I visited Glow, a skin and beauty shop in  Elder Street, Lambton, the suburb where I live in Newcastle NSW. I had a treatment by my usual therapist, Samira. We started talking about Christmas and  I asked Samira about the most important day of the year in her background culture which is Iranian. She told me about Nowruz, which  has its Zoroastrian origins dating back 3,000 years. 

I knew very little about this celebration and its rituals... like Christmas and other Christian traditions , it is a time for families - good will, gift giving and feasting. 

 The 'haft seen' table is the crowning glory of Nowruz, and the backdrop for every photo shared in family group chats. Everyone will have their own version of the haft seen table, and who doesn't love a little friendly competitive energy around the best spread?
Traditionally, every haft seen table has at least one of each of these seven things that all start with 's' in Farsi: 

  • Apple (seeb) 
  • Vinegar (serkeh)
  • Dried fruit from an Oleaster tree (senjed)
  • Sumac (sumac)
  • Garlic (seer)
  • A sweet wheat-based pudding (samanu)
  • Grass or wheat sprouts (sabzeh)

Combined, the effect is like bearing witness to a kaleidoscopic, eclectic altar. Each item also carries symbolic meaning for the year ahead: garlic for good health; senjed for love; vinegar for patience. Most people also add things like coins as a good omen for wealth, along with hand-painted eggs, books of poetry, mirrors, candles, and goldfish  From .ABC Everyday 

Can you spot the items in the artwork above?



 

 Samira very willingly posed for a photo with Christmas decorations in the salon, although she doesn't follow the usual Christian  Christmas practices and even admitted she didn't really like Christmas cake . However,  it was a well known Australian supermarket brand of fruit cake. I reassured her that homemade Christmas  fruit cake tastes much better! 




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...
3 comments
Read more

Giveaway - Gifts for You on My Birthday

Giveaway Gifts T his week is blog giveaway time! Last week I celebrated my birthday.  I’ve had far too many to count the candles, but I had a wonderful party on the weekend with my family - with an indulgent birthday cake, favourite foods cooked by my husband and great company. ( In case you were wondering about the writing on the cake , Por Por = Chinese grandmother)     I also got great gifts from  my family and friends. There seemed to be a bit of a theme this year – with many of my gifts and cards depicting matryshoka ( babushka) dolls and tea drinking.   As it is also winter here in Australia ,   it was easy for me to  decide what I could offer as gifts  in this birthday giveaway. All the gifts are handmade by me. Gift 1 - two little fabric matryshoka dolls  Gift 2- a little bag made from colourful teapot and teacup fabric . The design is called a jester bag, but it is suitable for carrying s...
24 comments
Read more

From my workshop page....

  Current Workshops  Offerings  Thinking of a workshop for your group in  2022?    Art Doll Workshops : -  Garden Thread Dolls  (one day workshop   -  WoW -(Woman of Wisdom)    - embellished stump doll with either cloth head or clay head.  This is an a rt doll workshop .... either offered as a series of workshops or  2 full days  days!   -  Message/Story  Stick doll  - doll made with found objects and upcycled cloth.  ( one day)    -  Elemental totems  - stick doll variation , with sculpture  ( one or two days, depending on surface decoration of fabric)  TEXTILE AND MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS    Temari - embroidered wrapped balls in traditional style.    - Dipping Into Tea  - tea and embroidery on canvas with photo transfer on fabric.  ( two days)  work by Judith Bee, workshop participant.  - Tea Bag sculpture : ...
Post a Comment
Read more