Uncle Ben goes to the Persian New Years Party
Uncle Ben goes to the Persian New Years Party.
Dear Forum Friends,
The Persian New Year is at the Spring Equinox. This means it falls on the evening of the 21 of March. Saturday the 22 was the logical choice for this celebration. There are about 350 Iranians in our town now. A good number are Baha抜s and many others are believers of Islam. Some are of the ancient Zoroastrian Faith.
All gathered happily for this celebration. I was one of a handful of people who
do not hail from Iran and do not speak Farsi. I had bought a ticket to this affair by chance, and did not realize at the time, that it was a party mainly for Persians. (190 guests came and there was No Alcohol, yet a wonderful and merry time was had.)
The ticket said 6:00 PM and so I arrived at 5:45. To my astonishmentThe great hall was decorated and the tables set, but hardly anybody there. Nevertheless I was warmly greeted and made welcome. In a little while a found my table (# 13) and set down. The only occupant at this table. Soon some others came and joined. Slowly the hall was starting to fill. All the ladies came with beautiful gowns and specially coifed hair. The men in suits of course, this being a Gala affair.
At 7:15 the master of ceremonies and chief organizers Mr. A. took to the podium
and addressed the assembled guests. They liked what he said as they clapped heavily even if it was lost on me. Then a younger man, slim and with a very nice suit stepped up. He is a Professor at the University here. He gave a short address
in English. It also was warmly applauded.
On every table was a display page in a plastic sleeve. This showed the extend of
the old Persian Empire at the time of Cyrus the Great, This was of course about
400 years before the beginning of our calendar. The borders of this Empire stretched from Afghanistan and Pakistan to take in part of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Libya, some of Greece and Turkey. It lasted about 350 years, I think. Anyway it was most impressive. One does not usually think of Iran in those terms.
The other side explained the history of the country. At the early age a ruler made a pronouncement of human rights, that is now lodged with the United Nation as
a model for tolerance.
After the addresses all were asked to rise and the Iranian National Anthem was
played and sung. It had a very nice and snappy ring to it and I liked it, even though is seemed to be very long. I saw tears in some older tablemates eyes.
Then came the call to go for food. A very large buffet had been set up with all
kinds of delicious salads and a hot food being Persian rice, chicken and breaded
fried fish fillets. The following deserts were absolutely scrumptious with melons, special cheese and chocolate cakes. Coffee and tea was brought to the tables
.
After the meal there arose a laughter and murmurings from the end of the room announcing the arrival of 揌ajji Firroz? The Hajji is a combination of a clown and a Dervish it seems. He had a very black face and a long red suit with a tall red hat. He danced around the room and ended up in the middle front stage and did
his antics to the delight of the crowd. This is apparently a tradition for the
New Year. Another tradition is the display of seven items starting with the letter 揝?in Farsi. These symbolize traits and New Life. Most prominent is the green growth of sprouted seeds. Goldfish, some coins and the spice 揝umac?were also displayed.
After the antics of the Hajji came a photo op for the ladies. Young ladies and older ladies all wanted there pictures taken with the Hajji. I told my Tablemate:
?If that is all it takes to attract all these women, the I will buy a can of black tomorrow? Of course it was all in good fun. In our society black face comedians or ?Minstrels?as they were called are no longer considered to be politically correct.
This was followed by a slide presentation of modern Iran. This also was very educational and interesting. You must remember that many of these guests are in Canada as refugees. Either for religious or political reasons and they experience homesickness for their own country. Of course the younger generation growing up in Canada are Canadians. Yet they should keep their heritage alive.
The slide show was succeeded by a group of lovely and charming dancing girls that went to the corners of the room working their way to the center. They had oriental costumes with thin veils. It was they who handed out candy and yellow daffodils to every table. Then they met at the stage and performed an oriental dance
to music. Most cond part of the party consisted then of music and dancing, but I
left at 9:20 being very tired from an early rising.
I must say I truly enjoyed this party and I like to express my thanks to the organizers especially Mr. A. who secured my ticket.
It is my wish, that the forum members could experience such hospitality and warmth, and all without the need to drink and toast with liquor. Best wishes, Uncle
Ben
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