In Avaaz, Roya tells the audience her story as she prepares for the celebration of Nowruz. Translated as “new day,” Nowruz is the Persian New Year, and it is all about renewal and rebirth from one year to the next. The exact origins of Nowruz are unclear, but it is estimated that it has been celebrated for 3,000 years, not just in Iran but also in Afghanistan, the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, as well as throughout Central Asia.
The celebration of Nowruz begins on the day of the vernal (spring) equinox and continues for 13 days. It is a very joyous holiday featuring singing, dancing, food, and family. On the first evening of Nowruz, families gather at the household of the oldest family member for a large feast. The traditional New Year meal includes sabzi polo mahi (rice mixed with herbs and served with white fish), ash reshteh (a thick green soup with noodles, chickpeas, and beans), and kuku sabzi (vegetable frittata). Pastries include baghlava, toot (mulberry); naan-nokhodchi (chickpea cookies with pistachio); and ajeel (dried berries and raisins). Other traditions include festivals featuring nomadic traditions and sports such as horse racing, wrestling, and archery. One of the most symbolic and festive practices during Nowruz is a tradition known as chaharshanbeh soori, which involves leaping over a fire to celebrate burning away negativity from the previous year and coming into the new year ready for renewal.
The centerpiece of Nowruz, as seen in Avaaz, is the Haft Sin table. This features the most prominent symbol of the holiday, the seven “sins” (pronounced like “seen”), which comes from the pronunciation of the Farsi letter “S.” These are seven objects, each representing something to be brought into the new year. Much preparation is put into the Haft Sin table, beginning with the planting of sabzeh sprouts. The first of the seven “sins,” sabzeh is wheat, barley, lentil, or another sprout grown in a dish. Symbolizing rebirth, sabzeh is planted weeks in advance in order for the buds to reach the right height for Nowruz.
The other six “sins” are:
• Sib (apple), which symbolizes beauty
• Somagh (sumac) – a spice from the red sumac berry – which symbolizes sunrise
• Serkeh (vinegar) represents age and patience
• Seer (garlic) symbolizes health
• Samanu, which doesn’t have a direct translation in English, is a wheat pudding that symbolizes strength
• Senjed (dried oleaster berries) symbolizes love
The Haft-Sin table may be adorned with other symbols outside of these primary seven, including a mirror to symbolize reflection, colored eggs as a symbol of fertility, and goldfish in a bowl, which represent life. There is also usually a book by the 14th-century Persian poet Hafez, which includes the epic poem the Shahnameh, or a copy of the Quran. These two books serve as a representation of Nowruz’s blending of its long history with more recent religious and cultural traditions.
Courtesy of Olney Theatre Center. Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.