Rumi Paying Tribute To Mothers

Rumi Paying Tribute To Mothers
Selected Rumi Poems from his Masnavi & Divan

I dedicate my following translation to all moms out there on the occasion of upcoming Mother's Day - celebrated here in America on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

روز مادر مبارک ~ ۱۲ می ۲۰۱۳ ~ درآمریکا

گلچین اشعار مولانا ازدیوان ومثنوی دربزرگداشت مادر

My mother is simply the best,
My father, pure perfection and greatness.
I'm joy, son of joy, son of joy, son of joy!

When a mother cries out to her infant,
"Come my child, let me breastfeed you,
I'm your mother."
Does a hungry baby ever respond,
"Show me the proof first that you're my mom,
Before I get quite sucking your milk?!"

A mother is so soft, fragile, and special,
Yet she always fiercely protects her child
Like a seasoned hunter chasing down a prey.

A mother travels a thousand miles ~
If she has to ~
For the sake of her child's happiness
And well being.

A mother lets loose a hundred
Oh no...oh God no..cries of despair,
When her child is going through hard times.

When a mother loses her child,
She grieves so deep and so endless,
Burning flames of sadness
Pour out of her grieving heart
As long as she lives.

A mother risks her own life
To keep her child out of danger.
A mother gives up her own life ~
A hundred times over if needed ~
To save the life of her precious child.

A sick child shivers in fear
While having blood drawn for analysis.
But the caring mother feels overjoyed
knowing her sick child will be cured soon.

Don't you ever judge and criticize a mother
For always overprotecting her child.
God could not be everywhere,
So He created mothers to represent Him.

God created patient mothers
To comfort their crying babies.
God created innocent babies
To cry out loud and beg
For their mothers' comforting milk.

No child can be born
Unless a pregnant mother first goes
Through very hard childbirth pain.
Pregnancy, labor pain, contractions,
Giving birth, and motherhood experiences
Are all God's Blessings for a mother.

God deposits His divine mercy and trust
Inside the heart of a pregnant mother.
Thus a mother's heart
Becomes pregnant with a gift from God.
That's why a mother's love is ever-eternal.

Just as a mother gives birth to a beautiful baby,
This transitory material world of ours
Shall also give birth
To an eternal and beautiful Hereafter.

With all these teachings on mothers,
Motherhood, and pregnancy experiences,
I sure sound like a highly experienced nanny!
Rumi

گلچین اشعار مولانا ازدیوان ومثنوی دربزرگداشت مادر

مادرم بخت بده است و پدرم جود و کرم
فرح ابن الفرح ابن الفرح ابن الفرحم

یا به طفل شیر مادر بانگ زد
که بیا من مادرم هان ای ولد
طفل گوید مادرا حجت بیار
تا که با شیرت بگیرم من قرار

بس ضعیف‌اند و لطیف و بس سمین
لیک مادر هست طالب در کمین
از پی فرزند صد فرسنگ راه
او بگردد در حنین و آه آه
آتش و دود آید از خرطوم او
الحذر زان کودک مرحوم او
غایبی مندیش از نقصانشان
کو کشد کین از برای جانشان

بچه می‌لرزد از آن نیش حجام
مادر مشفق در آن دم شادکام
نیم جان بستاند و صد جان دهد
آنچ در وهمت نیاید آن دهد

دایه و مادر بهانه‌ جو بود
تا که کی آن طفل او گریان شود
طفل حاجات شما را آفرید
تا بنالید و شود شیرش پدید
این جهان و آن جهان زاید ابد
هر سبب مادر اثر از وی ولد

تا نگیرد مادران را درد زه
طفل در زادن نیابد هیچ ره

قابله گوید که زن را درد نیست
درد باید درد کودک را رهیست
درد خیزد زین چنین دیدن درون
درد او را از حجاب آرد برون
این امانت در دل و دل حامله‌ست
این نصیحتها مثال قابله‌ست

Rumi Documentary: Maulana & The Sufi Whirling Dance of Sema

An hour-long documentary (in English with Farsi subtitles) about the life and ideas of Jalaluddin Muḥammad Balkhi, known simply as Rumi in the West; and the Sufi Whirling Dance, known as Sema. It's A MUST WATCH, if you are a Rumi aficionado.

We Are All Bostonians - Stay Strong Boston

"For cowards who flee, comes neither power nor glory."

- Homer, The Iliad

This world of ours resembles

A heartless child-killer mother.

Otherwise, she'd be crying her eyes out

Watching her children die in vain.

                Rumi ~ my translation

مادر فرزند خوار آمد این زمین

ور نه بر مرگ پسر بگریستی

 مولانا

Rumi on Gays and Lesbians

Homosexuals are Equal to Heterosexuals in the Eyes of God 
Rumi (from Masnavi, Book # 6 – Story of Ghulam Ghaus and his abduction by fairies..)

In his masterpiece, Masnavi Manavi or Spiritual Couplets of Profound Meanings, Rumi has touched on virtually every aspect of life, including sex. Time and again, Rumi argues that sexual relationship between two consenting adults is not only a gift from God, but also a very normal part of life. There are numerous verses and stories in Rumi's Masnavi dealing specifically with 'Sex & Sexuality', from romantic love, platonic love, various highly explicit gay love stories, hard-core sex, the vile and disgusting pedophilia, to the jaw-dropping, mind blowing, and truly shocking Zoophilia or Bestiality (Sexual activity between humans and animals), Rumi has written on virtually all aspects of sexuality and human sexual behaviors.

In my opinion, Rumi has courageously and deliberately brought up the "Sexual Taboos" in his poetic outpourings to open up the hearts and minds of the close-minded individuals (Muslims and non-Muslims alike). Rumi teaches us all in the following poem that all open manifestations of love and sexual activities between two consenting adults, whether homosexuals or heterosexuals, are not only divinely blessed sources of creativity, but also a natural part of human life. Rumi thus strongly argues that when it comes to sex and sexuality, there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

In sum, when it come to sex and sexuality, Sigmund Freud sounds like an amateur and inexperienced intern compared to Rumi's detailed, very much "Avant-garde", and highly progressive sex education techniques. Once you get to read, analyze, and fully understand Rumi's sexual "Dreams", you simply laugh at childish 'Freudian Psychoanalysis' and the politically correct sexual "Freudian Dreams". Rumi was clearly a thousand years ahead of his time and one of the greatest pioneers of "Sexual Revolution".

Please try reading my following translation without your cultural or religious bias. Or as Rumi would say: "Close your fault seeking eyes, and open your spiritual third eye."



Homosexuals are Equal to Heterosexuals in the Eyes of God 
Rumi (from Masnavi, Book # 6 – Story of Ghulam Ghaus and his abduction by fairies)



When God places feminine attributes inside a man's body,
He becomes gay and seeks a male partner.
When God places masculine attributes inside a woman's body,
She becomes lesbian and seeks a female partner.
Consider consensual sex as the act of love making,
But always judge non-consensual sex as a violent rape.

A promiscuous person always engages
In irresponsible sexual behaviors,
Even if being the smartest mind around.
What is Sexuality? A certain point of view
Which brings consenting sex partners together.

What God has hidden inside the body
Of a homosexual person,
If He chooses to also hide it inside your body,
You will also change your sexual orientation!

So as the old saying goes:
'Know your neighbors first before buying a home!'
If you truly have a pure heart, go and find
The love of your life regardless of gender.
Rumi


چونک اندر مرد خوی زن نهد 
او مخنث گردد و گان می دهد
چون نهد در زن خدا خوی نری 
طالب زن گردد آن زن سعتری‏
مهرها را جمله جنس مهر خوان
قهرها را جمله جنس قهر دان
لاابالی لا ابالی آورد
زانک جنس هم بوند اندر خرد
چیست جنسیت یکی نوع نظر
که بدان یابند ره در هم‌دگر
آن نظر که کرد حق در وی نهان
چون نهد در تو تو گردی جنس آن
پس تو هم الجار ثم الدار گو
گر دلی داری برو دلدار جو 
حضرت مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي 

مثنوي معنوي- -دفتر ششم -  قصه ى عبدالغوث و ربودن پريان او را و سالها ميان پريان ساكن شدن او و بعد از سالها آمدن او به شهر و فرزندان خويش را باز ناشكيفتن او از آن پريان بحكم جنسيت و همدلى او با ايشان   

Rumi On Easter - Jesus Christ's Resurrection

Rumi On Easter - Jesus Christ's Resurrection

Rumi On Easter - Jesus Christ's Resurrection

Muslims don't, but Christians devoutly believe
That Jesus was crucified on the cross.
Today, don't look for any healing by Jesus
For Christ is still roaming the earth.
When Jesus rose up to heaven
His healing miracles also died for us.

Where is our sweet-breathed Jesus
Who no longer needs
The motherly interventions of his virgin mother, Mary?
Where is our sweet-breathed Jesus
To tears to pieces the veil which has darkened
The hearts of so many Christians these days?

Even if the Antichrist manages to ignite
The biggest fire of sorrows and despairs,
Don't be afraid of the those fake flames;
Jesus will finally draw his sword
To punish the wrongdoer Antichrist.*

Jesus is like the good health to an aging body,
And the promise of hereafter to an immortal soul.
Keep on waiting for the sign of Jesus in his Second Coming
And Christ's ultimate return on the Judgment Day.
Rumi

*Pondering deeper over this line 'Jesus will finally draw his sword to punish the wrongdoer Antichrist' from my above translation, we can clearly grasp Rumi's in-depth  theological knowledge and understanding of the Holy Bible, particularly Passages from the New Testament. Rumi's mentioning of "Jesus will finally draw sword" is in reference to the following Biblical Teachings: Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and saw the traitor Judas arriving with Roman soldiers to arrest him. Christ's devoted disciples drew their swords to defend him, but Jesus immediately stopped them, teaching them and the humanity that violence is unacceptable for those who truly follow Jesus Christ and his peaceful teachings; "Jesus said to them 'Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.'"
New Testament - Matthew 26:52.


حضرت مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي دربزرگداشت حضرت عيسي مسيح عليه السلام


آن گمان ترسا برد مــؤمن نــدارد آن گمــان
كــو مسيح خــويشتن را بــر چليپا مي كشد
اکنون مکن دوا که مسیح تو برزمینست
چون شد مسیح بسوی فلک فوت شد دوا
کو آن مسیح خوش دمی بی‌واسطه مریم یمی
کز وی دل ترسا همی پاره کند زنار را
 دجال غم چون آتشی گسترد ز آتش مفرشی
 کو عیسی خنجرکشی دجال بدکردار را
 تن را سلامت‌ها ز تو جان را قیامت‌ ها ز تو
عیسی علامت‌ ها ز تو وصل قیامت وار را
 

Rumi's Reed Flute Epistle (Ney Namah)

ني نامه' حضرت مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي'

Rumi's Reed Flute Epistle (Ney Namah)

Here is my translation of Rumi's famous 'First Eighteen Verses of Masnavi', better known in Farsi as 'Ney Namah - ني نامه', literally Reed-Flute Epistle or Reed-Flute Letter. I've also embedded Maulana's original Farsi verses underneath each couplet, in case you're a Farsi speaker and wish to compare them to the original ones. Rumi scholars unanimously concur that the prologue of 'Reed-Flute Epistle' or the 'Reed Song', as it's known in the West, is indeed Maulana's majestic synopsis or summary of his entire masterpiece, Masnavi Manavi or Rhymed Couplets of Profound Spiritual Meanings, in eighteen verses. The 'Reed-Flute' or 'Ney - ني ' in these highly spiritual and mystical verses is none other than Rumi himself complaining of separation from his Source, and longing for the ultimate mystical reunion with his Beloved, the Absolute Truth or Almighty God. 

In her outstanding book, The Triumphal Sun: A Study of the Works of Jalaloddin Rumi, the great German-born Rumi scholar, late Professor Annemarie Schimmel magnificently explains Rumi's metaphorical usage of Ney or Reed Flute: "The reed flute provided Rumi with an ideal symbol of the soul which can utter words only when touched by the lips of the Beloved, and moved by the breath of the spiritual master, an idea expressed before him by Sana'i. Man, cut off from the eternal ground of his existence, like the flute from the reed-bed, becomes resonant in separation and tells the secrets of love and longing. Jalaloddin often saw himself, in the pangs of separation, passionately complaining like the reed, and felt the inspiration through Shams enter into his empty heart like the breath of a flute player. Does not the flute open nine or ten eyes in order to behold the Friend? In repetitious verses Rumi has alluded to the enrapturing power of the ney which, hands and feet cut off, deprives people of hands and feet, i.e., carries away their reason.The reed flute has suffered; its head has been cut, exactly like that of the reed pen hence both instruments are media to convey information about the Beloved, one by singing, the other by writing. Likewise the ney is connected with the sugar cane, both are filled with the Friend's sweetness; both are dancing already in the reed-bed or in the field in the hope of the lip of the Beloved..."

Rumi is simply at his best in using Ney-Flute as a metaphor to poetically demonstrating Man's predicament in his or her spiritual journey upon the enlightenment path of Sufism, or any other mystical path for that matter, in search of God. I hope my translation can capture Rumi's truly heart-wrenching and melancholic outpourings.

ني نامه حضرت مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي 

Listen to reed-flute as it tells a story 

complaining of separations:

بشنو از نی چون حکایت می ‌کند

از جداییها حکایت می ‌کند

Ever since I was cut from the reed-field

man and woman have moaned over of my wailing.

کز نیستان تا مرا ببریده‌اند

در نفیرم مرد و زن نالیده‌اند

I want a chest sliced open, sliced open by separation

to explain in detail the pain of longing.

سینه خواهم شرحه شرحه از فراق

تا بگویم شرح درد اشتیاق

Anyone who's left far away from his or her roots

keeps on longing for the day of reunion.

هر کسی کو دور ماند از اصل خویش

باز جوید روزگار وصل خویش

I've voiced my complaints in any gathering

becoming the companion of good and bad natured people.

من به هر جمعیتی نالان شدم

جفت بد حالان و خوش‌ حالان شدم

Everyone becomes my friend out of own suspicion

no one seeks out my secrets from the inside of me.

هرکسی از ظن خود شد یار من

از درون من نجست اسرار من

My secrets are not that far away from my wailing

but their eyes and ears don't yet have that light.

سر من از نالهٔ من دور نیست

لیک چشم و گوش را آن نور نیست

Neither flesh is veiled from the soul nor soul from the flesh

yet no one is allowed to see the soul.

تن ز جان و جان ز تن مستور نیست

لیک کس را دید جان دستور نیست

The wailing of this flute blows raging fire, not just some hot air

may anyone who's not already on fire, be annihilated!

آتشست این بانگ نای و نیست باد

هر که این آتش ندارد نیست باد

It is the fire of love which has filled this flute

it is the fervor of love which has filled this wine.

آتش عشقست کاندر نی فتاد

جوشش عشقست کاندر می فتاد

Flute is the companion of anyone who breaks up with a partner

the sad notes of this flute tear apart our veils.

نی حریف هرکه از یاری برید

پرده‌هااش پرده‌های ما درید

Has anyone ever seen anything like this flute:

Being the poison and the antidote for that poison?

Being overly confident and also anxiously impatient?

همچو نی زهری و تریاقی کی دید

همچو نی دمساز و مشتاقی کی دید

Flute narrates the tales of blood-soaked paths

and love stories of the mad-lover, Majnoon.

نی حدیث راه پر خون می‌کند

قصه‌های عشق مجنون می‌کند

The conscience trust of this logic is none but the unconscious one

since a tongue only has an ear as its client!

محرم این هوش جز بیهوش نیست

مر زبان را مشتری جز گوش نیست

My days turn into nights because of my sorrows

my days are accompanied with my burning pains.

در غم ما روزها بیگاه شد

روزها با سوزها همراه شد

If the days keep going by too fast, just say: Go ahead, I don't fear!

You stay here with me, since no one as pure and clean as you are.

 روزها گر رفت گو رو باک نیست

تو بمان ای آنک چون تو پاک نیست

Everyone gets fed up with the water except the fish

anyone without the daily bread feels the day is dragging on too long!

هر که جز ماهی ز آبش سیر شد

هرکه بی روزیست روزش دیر شد

The one who is still raw never knows how the burned one feels

but I need to make this long story short, so wasalam (goodbye)!

در نیابد حال پخته هیچ خام

پس سخن کوتاه باید والسلام

ني نامه حضرت مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي 

بشنو از نی چون حکایت می ‌کند

از جداییها حکایت می ‌کند

کز نیستان تا مرا ببریده‌اند

در نفیرم مرد و زن نالیده‌اند

سینه خواهم شرحه شرحه از فراق

تا بگویم شرح درد اشتیاق

هر کسی کو دور ماند از اصل خویش

باز جوید روزگار وصل خویش

من به هر جمعیتی نالان شدم

جفت بدحالان و خوش‌حالان شدم

هرکسی از ظن خود شد یار من

از درون من نجست اسرار من

سر من از نالهٔ من دور نیست

لیک چشم و گوش را آن نور نیست

تن ز جان و جان ز تن مستور نیست

لیک کس را دید جان دستور نیست

آتشست این بانگ نای و نیست باد

هر که این آتش ندارد نیست باد

آتش عشقست کاندر نی فتاد

جوشش عشقست کاندر می فتاد

نی حریف هرکه از یاری برید

پرده‌هااش پرده‌های ما درید

همچو نی زهری و تریاقی کی دید

همچو نی دمساز و مشتاقی کی دید

نی حدیث راه پر خون می‌کند

قصه‌های عشق مجنون می‌کند

محرم این هوش جز بیهوش نیست

مر زبان را مشتری جز گوش نیست

در غم ما روزها بیگاه شد

روزها با سوزها همراه شد

روزها گر رفت گو رو باک نیست

تو بمان ای آنک چون تو پاک نیست

هر که جز ماهی ز آبش سیر شد

هرکه بی روزیست روزش دیر شد

در نیابد حال پخته هیچ خام

پس سخن کوتاه باید والسلام

Happy Nowrooz - Persian New Year 1392!

New Year in Rumi's Poetry

May you have the rowdiest new year's party
and may all your problems get resolved
during this upcoming new year.
May you have months filled with joy
and a very happy new year.
And may this new year bring you
all the joy and happiness.

Rumi - My Translation

ای قیل و ای قال تو خوش و ای جمله اشکال تو خوش

ماه تو خوش سال تو خوش ای سال و مه چاکر تو را

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي

To reward our year-long drunkenness,

and to appreciate our youthfulness,

craziness and love-companionship;

the new year has sent us an invitation!

Who could possibly reward us with such a gift,

if not sent down by the God Almighty Himself?

May the protective Shadow of God

never leave our side in this upcoming new year.

Rumi - My translation

مستی و عاشقی وجوانی و یار ما

نوروز و نوبهار و حمل می زند صلا

از کیست این عطا ز کی باشد جز از خدا

هرگز مباد سایه یزدان ز ما جدا

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي

I saw the reflection of new year in your face,
a torrential downpour of tears hit me
I sat down and cried my heart out.
May the rainfall of my tears
bring new joys into your life
in this upcoming new year
and I tearfully wish you:
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Rumi - My translation


نوروز رخت دیدم خوش اشک بباریدم
نوروز و چنین باران باریده مبارك باد
 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي




The new year has come again
The new year has come again
My runaway lover has come again.

The new year celebrations are in abundance.
If there are abundant new year celebrations,
then let's all party in total abundance!

O musician who always play heart-warming melodies,
Why are you playing sad songs on New Year's Eve?

Even the Venus has already soared up high
to the seventh heaven.
If that's where the Venus wants to roam
on this New Year's Eve,
then let's all roam free wherever we want tonight!

The new year's moon is shining bright,
the two worlds have become one giant flower garden,
and all bodies have become one single soul.
If we're all one supreme soul on New Year's Eve,
then let's all just become one
throughout this upcoming new year.

Shams al-Haq of Tabriz,
You're so present in my thoughts right now,
that Tabriz  looks like Khorasan tonight.
If that's how you like it to be,
then let's keep it  forever that way!

I've been drinking and celebrating the new year
all alone without you tonight.
If this party feels so cold and boring without you,
then let it stay forever frozen tonight.

Be silent, I'm completely drunk right now.
Shams has tied up the hands of my reason
I'm just wandering around thinking about him.
If that's how my thoughts want to behave
on this New Year's Eve,
then let it act totally crazy tonight!
Rumi - My translation


عید آمد و عید آمد یاری که رمید آمد
عیدانه فراوان شد تا باد چنین بادا
آن ماه چو تابان شد کونین گلستان شد
اشخاص همه جان شد تا باد چنین بادا
هم باده جدا خوردی هم عیش جدا کردی
نک سرده مهمان شد تا باد چنین بادا
شمس الحق تبریزی از بس که درآمیزی
تبریز خراسان شد تا باد چنین بادا
ای مطرب صاحب دل در زیر مکن منزل
کان زهره به میزان شد تا باد چنین بادا
خاموش که سرمستم بربست کسی دستم
اندیشه پریشان شد تا باد چنین بادا

مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي




For me and any party lover like me
the new year is our luckiest time.
Because new year's day is a day
for partying and celebrations!
Because this upcoming new year
shall be a year filled with joy and happiness.
Rumi - My translation


چو سال سال نشاطست و روز روز طرب
خنک مرا و کسی را که عیش خو دارد

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي




Today is a day of happiness,
and this new year shall be a year filled with flowers.
We're all so lucky to make it another year,
may the flowers be also as lucky as we are!
Rumi - My translation


امروز روز شادی و امسال سال گل
نیکوست حال ما که نکو باد حال گل

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي




This new year will be our year.
This year our luck will soar sky-high
like the lucky Moon and Venus.
Stay quite o my beating heart,
I know there is no limit
to new year's joy and happiness!
Rumi - My translation


سال سال ماست و طالع طالع زهره‌ست و ماه
ای دل این عیش و طرب حدی ندارد تن بزن

  مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي



The new year has come again,
and everyone wants to look their best
for the new year reunion with their lover.

You' are my new year,
alleviate my year-long sufferings.
You are the silk robe for every flower,
cover my sharp and ugly thorns.
Rumi - My translation


عید آمد و هرکس قدری مقداری
آراسته خود را ز پی دیداری     
ما را چو توئی عید بکن تیماری
ای خلعت گل فکنده بر هر خاری

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي 




A Sufi mystic and a lover
never wait for the new year's arrival.
For them, every instant is a new year!
Rumi - My translation


چو عارف را و عاشق را به هر ساعت بود عیدی
نباشد منتظر سالی که تا ایام عید آید

 مولانا جلال الدين بلخي رومي

Persian New Year 1392 or Nowrooz falls on Wednesday, March 20th 2013

'Nowrooz literally means “New Day” in Persian, and the festival marks the beginning of the solar year and new year on the Iranian calendar, as well as among several other nationalities.This year, Nowrooz falls on Wednesday, March 20th, with the following day, the vernal equinox, being the first day of the new year. Nine countries celebrate Persian New Year - Nowrooz nationally: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Nowrooz traditionally celebrates the awakening of nature, and even the triumph of good over the oppressive darkness of winter. It is a time to celebrate life at the time when life begins or is renewed for much of that which is on the earth. The new year is marked at the instant the sun leaves the astrological sign of Pisces and enters that of Aries. This renewal of nature is the essence of this millennial-old tradition. Originally held as a spring festival, it is believed to have been first acknowledged and named “Nowrooz” by the mythical Persian emperor Jamshid from Achaemenid Dynasty (500 BC).

Others credit the Achaemenian dynasty of the 12th century B.C. for institutionalizing the Nowrooz festival. The spirit and significance of the holiday has often made Nowrooz a target for foreign invaders and anti-nationalist forces throughout the history of Persians. Alexander the Great and the Arab conquerors a thousand years later tried to eliminate the holiday. The Soviet Union banned it in Central Asia and Azerbaijan, as it was considered a nationalist or Islamic holiday. The celebration was banned in Kurdish sections of Turkey, though, for the last few years, Turkish officials have allowed some festivities. The Taliban banned Nowrooz in Afghanistan until they were overthrown in 2001. Even in Iran, the birthplace of the tradition, some conservatives favored banning it just after the 1979 revolution, but public opposition was strong and the ban proved impossible to enforce..'

click on image to see details

A ceremonial table (Spread) called Sofreh-e Haft Seen (cloth/Spread of Seven Dishes), where name of each dish begins with the Persian letter Seen - س 

'A few days prior to the New Year, a special cover is spread on to the Persian carpet or on a table in every Persian household. This ceremonial table is called cloth of seven dishes, (each one beginning with the Persian letter Seen). The number seven has been sacred in Iran since the ancient times, and the seven dishes stand for the seven angelic heralds of life-rebirth, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty.

The symbolic dishes consist of:

Sabzeh or sprouts, usually wheat or lentil representing rebirth.

Samanu is a pudding in which common wheat sprouts are transformed and given new life as a sweet, creamy pudding and represents the ultimate sophistication of Persian cooking.

Seeb means apple and represents health and beauty.

Senjed the sweet, dry fruit of the Lotus tree, represents love. It has been said that when lotus tree is in full bloom, its fragrance and its fruit make people fall in love and become oblivious to all else.

Seer which is garlic in Persian, represents medicine.

Somaq sumac berries, represent the color of sunrise; with the appearance of the sun Good conquers Evil.

Serkeh or vinegar, represents age and patience.

click on image to see details

To reconfirm all hopes and wishes expressed by the traditional foods, other elements and symbols are also on the sofreh:

a few coins placed on the sofreh represent prosperity and wealth;

a basket of painted eggs represents fertility;

a Seville orange floating in a bowl of water represents the earth floating in space;

a goldfish in a bowl represents life and the end of astral year-picas;

a flask of rose water known for its magical cleansing power, is also included on the tablecloth;

Nearby is a brazier for burning wild rue ,a sacred herb whose smoldering fumes ward off evil spirits;

A pot of flowering hyacinth or narcissus is also set on the sofreh;

A mirror which represents the images and reflections of Creation as we celebrate anew the ancient Persian traditions and beliefs that creation took place on the first day of spring.

On either side of the mirror are two candlesticks holding a flickering candle for each child in the family. The candles represent enlightenment and happiness.'

Haft seen Table explanation, courtesy of FarsiNet

 سال نو۱۳۹۲ مبارک 

HAPPY PERSIAN NEW YEAR 1392! 

HAPPY NOWROOZ! SAL-E NOW MUBARAK!