In celebration of Nowruz and of the coming of Springtime we have compiled for you a collection of the most beautiful Haft-Sin tables from around the interwebs.
Nowruz is a celebration of the coming of Spring and marks the beginning of the new year in the Iranian calendar. Although commonly also referred to as ‘Persian/Iranian New Year’, Nowruz is also celebrated widely in the region across different countries including Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Albania, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
So what is a Haft-Sin table?
At the centre of Nowruz celebrations and in every home lies the ‘Haft Seen’ table, a spread consisting of seven symbolic elements (all beginning with an ‘S’) which represent health, happiness and wealth. Each household goes to great lengths to create the most beautiful Haft Seen table, decorating their boiled eggs elaborately and arranging each item with great care.
Here is a diagram by @YasmineMolavi (twitter):
(Items included = apples, sumac, garlic, coins, vinegar, sprouts, wheat pudding, candle, dried oleaster, a mirror, hyacinths and a book of poetry, or if you are Muslim then also quite often also the Qur’an - note: Nowruz is not an Islamic celebration)
Aside from the essential components each family's haft-sin will differ slightly and understandably as the tradition is over 3,000 years old!
Here are some of the most beautiful spreads we found on the internet:
Artist 'Afsoon Afsoonagain' uses classical Iranian imagery to characterise her eggs, and a plethora of different patterns which rim her display plates and frame the spread.
Zahra from Shiraz's design is more traditional, but I love the worn away effect in the goldfish bowl that creates the illusion of a natural pond or fountain.
Aida's haft-sin table is very minimalistic, yet still manages to capture all the colours of the Spring!
And finally, Maryam Yousefzade, she really went all out with the details, from the arrangement of the nuts to co-ordinating her table with the interior of the room.
We hope you all feel inspired enough now to create your own displays!
Nowruz-etoon-Pirooz! & Sale-No-Mubarak
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