Nowruz (New Day)
The Arrival of Spring Equinox
The First Day of Spring is a Non-Religious Celebration of the New Year for More Than 300 Million Celebrants Around the World.
HAFT-SEEN
A major part of the Nowruz-New Year’s ritual is the setting of a special table with seven specific items known as the haft-seen (“haft” means 7 or “seen” in Persian). The items should be edible and grown with roots in the ground. In ancient times, each of the seven dishes and other items on the table was symbolic of the various attributes of life. These are Seeb (apple-beauty), Seer (garlic-health), Sabzeh (seed sprout-rebirth), Serkeh (vinegar-patience), Sumagh (sumac berries-joy), Senjed (fruit of jujube tree-happiness), and Samanu (boiled malt with flour-prosperity).
In looking at twenty million Parsi words, we cannot find another item that could fit the requirements for the actual haft-seen except for the above-mentioned seven. Today, some families add to these original seven “S” items additional items to round out their displays; these include Sekeh (coins-prosperity), colored eggs (fertility equal to the number of family members), a bowl with live goldfish (life and the sign change of Pisces), candles (enlightenment and happiness), and perhaps a holy book for those who celebrate as such. At the exact time to the minute and second, when the season changes, all family members gather around the table to greet the New Year and the elderly give money or coins to the younger members of the family.
This year, Nowruz begins on Tuesday, March 19, at 20:06:26, which is the exact time when Winter turns into Spring, the Spring Equinox.
Project 200 – Charity Fundraising Report:
ISSD students participated in the Annual Dollar a Month Fund’s Trick or Treat Coin Box fundraiser. The fund goes to help street children in Iran and other needy children. The boxes were distributed in early October last year and were collected in November. The following are the results:
Total Coin Box Fundraiser Amount: $3,374.73
Top Class: Mrs. Shoushtari (Persian 1) for a total of $412.18
Top Four Students:
1- A. Witzen – $205.00
2- M. Esfandiari – $131.00
3- D. Amidfar – $110.01
4- S. Rafii – $110.00
This means that ISSD students are supporting 10 Iranian street children for the entire year.
DMF and ISSD thank all participants. As a token of appreciation, the top class and the top students will have pizza with the principal.
