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Haft seen

Haft-Seen also spelled as Haft Sīn (Persian‎‎, the seven seen's) is a tabletop arrangement of seven symbolic items traditionally displayed at Nowruz, the Iranian/Afghan new year. The haft-seen table includes seven items all starting with the letter seen (س) in the Persian alphabet.

 

The Haft-Seen items are:

 

Sabzeh - wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing rebirth

Samanu - sweet pudding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence

Senjed - dried oleaster Wild Olive fruit - symbolizing love

Seer - garlic - symbolizing the medicine and health.

Seeb - apple - symbolizing beauty.

Somāq - sumac fruit - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise.

Serkeh - vinegar - symbolizing old-age and patience

 

Each Haft-Seen item is a symbol of an ancient Persian holy spirit dedicated, 5 of which are spirits of 5 months in the Persian calendar:

 

Sabzeh is the symbol for the spirit of Ordibehesht (2nd month of Persian Calendar) who is the owner of vast clean oceans.

Samanu - is the symbol for the spirit of Shahrivar (6th month of Persian Calendar) who is the symbol of grocery.

Senjed - is the symbol for the spirit of Khordad (3rd month of Persian Calendar) who is the symbol of love and affection.

Somāq - is the symbol for the spirit of Bahman (11th month of Persian Calendar) who is the symbol of rain.

Serkeh - is the symbol for the spirit of Mordad (the 5th month of Persian Calendar) who is the symbol of immortality.

Seeb - is the symbol for the woman spirit, the Sepandar Mazd, who is the symbol of rebirth and health.

Seer - is the symbol of the highest spirit of worship, the Ahura Mazda.

 

The following items may also appear on the Haft-Seen table as ornaments or for the sake of completeness. Although some of these items are Persian symbols, they are not the main part of the traditional HaftSeeen.

 

Divan-e Hafez, a Persian poetry book.

a mirror

a goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of astral year-picas (Goldfish is originally a symbol Chinese new year)

a low brazier full of fire

a lamp

sprays of cypress or pine

pomegranates

painted eggs

coins as a symbol of wealth

candles for each member of the family

a bowl of water

wheat or bread

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Uploaded on March 19, 2016
Taken on March 19, 2016