I am no stranger to symbolic foods (the Jewish Passover Seder plate includes horseradish for the bitterness of slavery and a fruit and nut mixture representing the mortar used by slaves for building structures in Egypt). But next to the food, I noticed several other items on the table-- goldfish in a bowl, a mirror, a dish full of what looks like grass, coins in a cup of reddish spice-- that pique my interest.
Attar explained that the most essential tradition of Norooz is for every family to prepare the Haft Sin or 7 symbolic items that start with the letter S (in Farsi):
Sabzeh, sprouted wheat or other grain growing in a dish, to symbolize rebirth.
Samanu, a sweet pudding made from sprouted wheat that represents fertility and the sweetness of life.
Seeb, apples, for health and beauty.
Senjed, the sweet, dried fruit of the Lotus tree, for love.
Sir, garlic, for medicine and good health.
Somaq, crushed sumac berries, to reflect the color of the sunrise.
Serkeh, vinegar, to symbolize patience and age.
Senjed, one of the 7 foods that begin with S
Preparations must commence days before the actual day of the vernal equinox and include a thorough housecleaning, sprouting the grain and buying new clothes for everyone in the family.
The equinox is calculated to occur the moment that the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day, which happens at different times across the globe (see chart). This year, the West Coast will celebrate it Thursday, March 21st.
“It’s important that at the exact moment of the equinox, the family is sitting around the table, because you want the family to be together for the rest of the year,” says Attar. “We pray and hold hands and then the countdown on radio or TV announces the exact moment and we all kiss and hug. I’m getting goose bumps just talking about it,” says Attar, tearing up, “It’s emotional for me because I think of my parents.”
Attar grew up in Iran, but left in 1984, at age 35 with her 2 young children.
“I sacrificed my parents to make a new life for my children. My mom is still in Iran. When I was a child, New Years was the most exciting time. Every year it comes at a different hour. When it was at 4am, my mother woke us up an hour before to take a shower and put on new clothes. But the best part is that for the next 13 days the young people in the family go visit the older people who give them money, crisp new bills.”
This tradition is similar to the Chinese New Year tradition, where New Year’s bills are placed in red envelopes.
Of all the dishes on the Haft Sin, the hardest one to procure is the Samanu. It takes days to prepare a sweet creamy pudding made from sprouted wheat that is cooked for many hours. The wheat must be sprouted for 5 days until white roots and sprouts appear, then it is crushed and the mash repeatedly “milked” and cooked on the stove for at least 5 hours. It is finally finished overnight in a low oven to give it that burnished brown hue.
