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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! 




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