Norooz/Nowruz Persian New Year and Festive Craft
I’m excited to share this fun and festive craft to celebrate Norooz! It’s easy, looks pretty, and can be made by kids and adults alike. I’ll share a little background about the Persian New Year and then share instructions for the hyacinth craft below.
The Persian New Year, known as Norooz or Nowruz, is the biggest celebration of the year in the Persian culture. It is a time of renewal and rebirth and happens at the moment of the Spring Equinox around March 20th.
In preparation for Norooz, Persians and people from other cultures, get ready by spring cleaning their homes and getting everything ready as they embrace the changing of season and the new year to come. They participate in Charshambeh Soori which is the celebration of light and fire where they jump over a series of three small bonfires and eat the Persian trail mix called Ajeel.
At the moment of the equinox, friends and family gather around a place setting called the Sofreh Haft-Seen which is a collection of seven symbolic items in addition to a mirror, candles, and sometimes a goldfish or fish representation. The haft-seen is typically placed on a beautiful fabric and can be simple or ornate based on the individuals personal preferences.
The seven symbolic items and meanings include:
- Seeb – apple, representing health
- Seer – garlic, representing good health
- Somagh – sumac, the color of sunrise
- Sombol – fragrant flower, the Hyacinth flower
- Serkeh – vinegar, patience and aging
- Sabzeh – the Persian grass or sprouted legumes/lentils, representing growth and renewal
- Senjed – wild olive fruit, representing love
- Samanou – wheat germ pudding, representing patience, power, and bravery
- Sekeh – coins; representing prosperity
The Haft Seen pics here are the spreads I have made over the last few years. As you can see, I like to make mine more compact but a haft seen can be presented in any way you like!
Traditional foods to eat on Norooz are filled with the fresh herbs of the season and include Ash Reshteh, Koo Koo Sabzi and the herbed rice called Sabzi Polo.
It is tradition for younger generations to go pay respects to the elders in the community and visit them during the 13 day Norooz season. They can eat some of the fresh foods of the season, Persian cookies, or sip on tea brewed with cardamom seeds. In return, the elders may give out “Eidey” or money to the young for good luck in the new year.
On the 13th day of Norooz, it is customary to get out of the house and celebrate Sizdeh-be-Dar with a picnic or time outdoors. Parks are great meeting places for communities to enjoy sizdeh-be-dar together, and groups will often share some of their picnic foods with each other. My favorite things to eat on this day is Lubia Polo and Salad Ooloovieh which is a Persian chicken and potato salad!
Aideh Shomah Mobarak! Meaning Happy New Year in Persian!
If you’d like to learn more, check out our podcast episode about Norooz and the Haft Seen on the Modern Persian Food Podcast!
Tissue Paper Hyacinth Flower Craft
For the craft hyacinth, I glued small pieces of colored tissue paper to a drawing of the hyacinth base. I lightly crumpled and folded the pieces of tissue paper, then used a regular glue stick to glue it to the paper. The tissue paper can be squished to little balls as well.
The result is an easy craft that is perfect to share in a classroom or just a festive activity to do on Norooz.
I made a simple template that I printed and shared with my daughter’s classroom. I included tissue paper squares of various colors as well. Stay tuned to hear how that all goes!
Thanks so much for reading and learning about Persian New Year. I hope you are inspired to try setting out your own haft-seen or creating a hyacinth craft this Norooz season.