Then And Now

Then and Now

So in chapter 2 of my fic Winds of Wolfsong I was originally going to go much more in-depth with Nowruz, the new-year celebration, what with food and all, I even collected notes.

However, I did not actually end up including a lot of the stuff in the chapter itself, most of it didn't even end up being written into the first draft. I was gonna figure out the incorporation of symbolism as I wrote, which didn't end up happening, whoops.

But I gathered notes, they'll probably come into use in the future and hey, y'all might be interested and find some use out of those too.

Sizdah Bedar (Persian: سیزده‌بدر – sīzdah bedar), (lit. 'Thirteen outdoor') also known as Nature's Day (روز طبیعت – rūz-e tabī'at), is an Iranian festival held annually on the thirteenth day of Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian calendar (and the first month of spring, during which people spend time picnicking outdoors. It marks the end of the Nowruz holidays in Iran.

This actually made it into the fic, what with the little family going out for a picnic in the morning, though they did the actually get to have the picnic due to... stuff happening. Isfan says:

Today is the thirteenth of the new year, the last of Nowruz, the second one without Lady Jahanara.

So... yeah!

A custom performed at the end of the picnic is to throw the sprouted greens (سبزه – Sabze) that were part of the traditional Haft-Seen Nowruz display into moving water.

In the chapter Isfan says:

They would cast the Sabzeh sprouts in this stream afterwards, all of them, together.

It is actually customs for young people to knot the sprouts together if they're wishing for marriage partners, it didn't get mentioned in the chapter because nobody was looking for a marriage at the moment. Shapur is resolute to not wed, the kids are too young, Sanira and Behnam are married to each other.

Sekanjabin (Persian: سکنجبین), one of the oldest Iranian drinks, is made of honey and vinegar. Sekanjabin is usually served in summer. It is sometimes seasoned with mint. It is very popular in summer, but it is also an inseparable part of Sizdah Bedar. Iranians eat lettuce with Sekanjabin. This act is symbolically a promise to stay healthy during the New Year. Sekanjabin is a compound of سرکه serke "vinegar" and انگبین angabin "honey".

I at the very least wanted to include Sekanjabin buuuuuut I couldn't find the space. Oh well, it'll have to be put in cryosleep for future use.

Ash-e doogh, (Persian: آش دوغ), also known as "yoghurt soup", originates from the Azeri region of northwest Iran and is one of the traditional soups of Ardabil. It is a common dish found in many regions and cultures within West Asia, including Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Ash-e doogh is a soup usually made with yogurt or doogh, as well as different kind of herbs (such as coriander, leek, tarragon, mint, and parsley), vegetables (such as spinach, purslane, chickpeas, peas, onion and garlic), lamb meatballs, eggs, rice, salt and several types of spices. Fried mint with oil (and sometimes garlic) is used as a topping for the soup. This soup can be made vegetarian.

Doesn't have much of a symbolic thing going on, just collected in case I may need it.

One of the most common foods cooked on the occasion of Nowruz is Samanu (Samanak, Somank, Somalek). This food is prepared using wheat germ. In most countries that celebrate Nowruz, this food is cooked. In some countries, cooking this food is associated with certain rituals. Women and girls in different parts of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan cook Samanu in groups and sometimes during the night, and when cooking it, they sing memorable songs.

Samanu did actually make it... into a discarded draft. I ended up erasing the sentence and I can't find it again but it was just a passing mention of the brothers having it with bread for breakfast. Samanu does have a symbolic meaning, especially associated with Nowruz, as it is one of the seven items placed on the Haft-sīn table during the celebration.

The Haft-Seen table is composed of “haft” (or seven) essential symbols that represent nature, and “sin” which may have been shortened from “sini” (or trays), which held these essential symbols. The symbols break down into three from the material world (or “donyaheh mahdoodiat”), three from the immaterial world (or “donayeh maanah”) — this is the world of meaning and ideas — and one symbol that sits between and ties these two worlds together.

×

By tradition, Iranian families take great pains to create the most beautiful Haft-Seen table that they can, for not only does it embody values both traditional and spiritual, it is also appreciated by the visitors during Nowruz visiting exchanges as a reflection of the families' aesthetic sense and good taste.

×

Typically, before the arrival of Nowruz, family members gather around the Haft-sin table and await the exact moment of the March equinox to celebrate the New Year. The number 7 and the letter S are related to the seven Ameshasepantas as mentioned in the Zend-Avesta. They relate to the four elements of Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and the three life forms of Humans, Animals and Plants. In modern times, the explanation was simplified to mean that the Haft-sin (Persian: هفت‌سین, seven things beginning with the letter sin (س)) are: • Sabze/Sabzeh (Persian: سبزه), Sprouting/Grass – wheat, barley, mung bean, or lentil sprouts grown in a dish, the symbol of rebirth and growth. • Samanu (Persian: سمنو) – sweet pudding made from wheat germ, the symbol of power and strength. • Senjed (Persian: سنجد) – Persian olive, the symbol of love. • Serke/Serkeh (Persian: سرکه) – vinegar, the symbol of patience. • Sib/Seeb (Persian: سیب) – apple, the symbol of beauty. • Sīr/Seer (Persian: سیر) – garlic, the symbol of health and medicine. • Somāq/Somagh (Persian: سماق) – sumac, the symbol of sunrise.

Man, reading the notes again, I wish I could've found a way to incorporate this but oh well, no use lamenting over it now. I'm sure I'll find some use of it in the future.

But they're not the only items on the Haft-sīn table.

Items that don't start with "س" but, nonetheless, are invariably included: • Tokhm-e Morg Rangi (تخم‌مرغ رنگی): Eggs, the symbol of fertility. • Ayina (آینه): Mirror, the symbol of self-reflection. • Shem'a (شمع): Candle, the symbol of enlightenment. • Maahi-ye Qırmız (ماهی قرمز): Goldfish, the symbol of progress. • Ketaab (کتاب): Book, the symbol of wisdom.

I'm less bummed about those because I wasn't determined to include them anyways but here they are nonetheless!

I don't know when they'd take down the Haft-sīn table, if they would've taken it down yet, so I may be able to squeeze some use out of it yet. We'll see.

@innerchorus You said you were interested so here ya go!

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This is the ask game, if anybody wants to join!

"Encounter" is finally up on Tapas Read uncut version: HERE

Dragon Comic - Table of Contents

I've noticed that a lot of people started following me for the dragon comic, so here's a sort of landing page (pinned post) where I'll keep all the parts if and when I update the story!

pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5

The scarf singeing moment...