The ANHS Persian Club had a special meeting during Wolverine Plus on March 20 to celebrate the Persian New Year. They also set up a traditional Persian “haft-seen” decoration in the library.
The club gathered in the STEM building, where President Ava Menhaji (12) and Vice President Atrisa Taghizadeh (12) gave a presentation on Persian New Year traditions. Afterwards, tea and traditional Persian sweets were served.
Shaya Khosravi (11) says, “I thought the event was really nice. I thought it was really cute because they were teaching about the history of Nowruz and everything, [with] traditions that we have, foods that we eat, and I think it was a very good experience.”
The Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, which means “new day” in Farsi, falls on the spring equinox every year. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years and is one of the most cherished and ancient traditions of Persian culture.
The haft-seen, meaning “seven S’s,” is a decorative table arrangement for Nowruz with seven symbolic elements, each starting with “seen,” the letter S in Farsi. The main seven elements of the haft-seen are apples, garlic, vinegar, oleaster, wheat germ pudding, plant sprouts and sumac, but it often also includes other items such as a mirror, painted eggs or a book of traditional Persian poetry. All the items are symbolic representations of health, prosperity and nature’s rebirth as winter gives way to spring, marking the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar.
Holding the Nowruz event was part of the Persian Club’s mission to create a cultural community here at Aliso and educate Persians and non-Persians alike about Iranian culture.
Taghizadeh says, “Our purpose is to bring the Persian community together and, just in general, make everyone aware of what the Persian culture is [and] of its rich history. And the club is not only for Persians; it is welcome to all. Anybody can come in and learn about the culture.”
This Nowruz also comes at a tumultuous time for Iran, as a massive protest movement in January was met with a deadly government crackdown, in addition to the recent US-Israeli military action beginning in late February.
Taghizadeh says, “The reason why I decided to do a celebration this year is, first off, because of all the events happening in Iran. Celebration does not, in a way, always have to be about celebrating your happiness and everything. It was also a way to show that we are there, we are Persian, and we are going to keep [our culture] going.”
“All of this evil in the world is not gonna stop us. [We’re] continuing 3,000 years of history [and] of tradition; we continue this by also keeping in memory all of the lives lost, so that was one of the main purposes.”
Whatever the context—positive or negative—Nowruz is an important part of Iranian cultural identity, and celebrating it acts as a form of communal connection.
Khosravi says, “I feel like having part of that celebration creates a whole different feeling from the celebrations that you have at home with your family, because now you’re coming to school with other people who may or may not be Persian, [and] you get to have a new level of connection with them.”
