Yearly on the eve of the Spring Equinox, the 13-day-long Persian New Yr competition of Nowruz begins. It’s a second of celebration marked by conventional rituals, just like the Chaharshanbe Suri, which requires revelers to leap over a flame for success. Then, there are additionally dances, visits with family members, and all through all of it, a sofreh haft-sin proudly displayed within the properties of those that have a good time.
The haft-sin consists of a desk thoughtfully and artistically organized with symbolic parts to fete the New Yr and the start of spring. Historically, tables are set by girls with seven (haft) issues starting with the Persian letter “sin,” together with wheat, olives, vinegar, apples, garlic, sumac, and hyacinths—tables can also embody mirrors, candles, painted eggs, goldfish, and a “e-book of knowledge.”
Every desk is deeply private and particular person to the households who prepare them, holding objects that may characterize their hopes and wishes for the yr forward. As Persian photographer Clémence Polès explains: “Every haft-sin I put collectively looks like a snapshot of the place I’m in my life, and at any time when I look again upon one, it looks like studying an previous diary entry.”
