Here’s Why Iranians Altered Their Centuries-Old Tradition This Nowruz
Written by: Huda Z
The first day of Spring means different things to different people. To some, it is just another season and to the others, it means flowers, sunshine and fragrance. But to the Iranians, it means the first day of the new year.
Nowruz – or the Iranian New Year – is the day of the vernal equinox and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of the first month of the Iranian calendars. For many Iranians, this day is an opportunity to connect with the centuries-old Persian rituals and traditions. Praying, visiting family members, exchanging greetings and gifts are the usual highlights of a typical Iranian’s Nowruz day. Though Iranians today living in different parts of the world might celebrate Nowruz differently, there is one thing that’s constant in every Iranian household – the Haft Seen.
The term Haft is Farsi for ‘seven’ and Seen is the name of a Farsi letter, which equivalent to the English letter S. So, Haft Seen roughly translates to Seven Seens. The Haft Seen is the name of the arrangement of seven symbolic items that start with the Farsi letter Seen, displayed at homes, parties, shops and other areas during the Nowruz holidays throughout Iran. The Haft Seen is usually composed of Sabzeh (sprouts), Samanau (wheat germ pudding), Senjed (Persian olive), Serkeh (vinegar), Seeb (apple), Seer (garlic) and Somaq (sumac). The decoration is often also accompanied with decorative items such as a mirror, candles, painted eggs, a goldfish and other Iranian confectionaries and sweets. Most times, a ‘book of wisdom,’ is also added to the set up which is usually the Qur’an, the Bible, the Avesta, the Shahnameh – famous book of the Iranian poet Ferdowsi, or the Divan – book of the Persian poet Hafez.
A typical Haft Seen / Credit: Tasnim News Agency
If you had been following the news regularly, you would find it to be true that this solar year was indeed a tough one for Iran. Multiple times throughout the year, Iran made it to global headlines – whether it was because of the heavy flooding that started the year, or the disastrous coronavirus disease that ended it. However, for most Iranians, one thing proved to be the biggest and perhaps the most shocking highlight of the year – the US Army’s assassination of the Iranian General, Qassem Soleimani. Iranian sentiments for their slain general were quite visible on social media ever since the US Army launched missiles on the vehicle that carried him right outside Baghdad, Iraq where he had been on a diplomatic mission. The mass funerals that were arranged to bid him a farewell, attended by millions of Iranians in multiple cities also made it to the news. It was evident right from the start that the Iranians will never be able to forget him and it became far more evident this Nowruz, when many Iranians altered a centuries-old tradition of theirs for his sake.
This year, the Haft Seen arrangements in Iranian homes had one major addition – Seen for Soleimani, a photo of their late General Qassem Soleimani. This decoration was called the Hasht Seen – Eight Seens – by the ones who set it up in their homes and posted about it on their social media. An Instagram and Twitter hashtag, which roughly translates to ‘Soleimani, My Eighth Seen!’ was reserved for photographs of Hasht Seens, with people posting photos from all over Iran.
‘A Haft Seen that is different from the previous years,’ tweeted Mina Mir, an accounting graduate from Sistan, along with a photograph of her own glimmering Hasht Seen. ‘To pay our tributes and respects to this son of Iran, we tried to bring out a display that is decorated with the photographs of the General. We want to say that this year, the General is a guest of all the people of Iran.’
Fatemeh, a Management Sciences student from Tehran shared the photographs of her own Hasht Seen. When I asked her what General Soleimani meant to her, she said that she didn’t know what to say. ‘Well, I don’t know what to say about him. [If] you just look at his picture, it’s telling everything.’
Fatemeh’s Haft Seen
Fatemeh’s sentiments for Qassem Soleimani were accurately displayed in her beautiful maroon and white Hasht Seen. ‘When I see his picture, I see peace. It will never get old for me. I think about him every day, how someone could reach the blessed stature that he did.’ She said that she thought that he was a hero and he continued to stay alive in the hearts of all Iranians. ‘He is here with us,’ she said, ‘because now, he has more influence on us than ever before.’
On Instagram, the hashtag exceeded five-thousand posts within just one day. Instagram users wrote poems for the slain commander and posted photos of beautifully decorated Hasht Seens, often on blue silk table-cloths, dedicated to him.
‘This year, our year (sic) started with a sadness about it,’ wrote Amin Reza Vahedi, an Esteghlal fan from Kerman. ‘Our hearts will not stop missing him forever,’ he continued in the caption under the photo of himself with a Hasht Seen.
The overwhelming love of the Iranians for their slain General and them taking every opportunity to express it gives out a clear message to the world: General Qassem Soleimani will not be forgotten by the Iranian nation for generations to come.
About the Author
Huda Z
Huda is an independent journalist and researcher contributing to multiple online and offline platforms. She tweets at @whothezee.