Celebration is rich with
traditional ceremony

By Layne Christensen
Community Reporter

THE Iranian new year, or Nowruz, always
begins on the first day of spring.

This year, the many thousands of Iranian-Canadians
who live on the North Shore welcomed in the new
year on Thursday, March 20 at 5:54:56 a.m.
(Vancouver time).

The new year, according to the Iranian calendar, is
1376.

Members of all factions of the Iranian community
partake in the festivities, regardless of religious or
political beliefs, said Kaywan Dashti, a North
Vancouver resident and president of the [ersian
Foundation.

“Mosiem, Zoroastrian, Jew, Christian, Baha’i,
Communist, royalist, left wing, right wing ... everyone
celebrates this day,” said Dashti.

The celebration of Nowruz dates back to between
4,000 and 7,000 B.C. and is known as “a day of friend-
ship, loving, prosperity, forgiveness, health and commence-
ment of a new life in the year ahead.”

The celebration is rich in symbolism and ceremony.

Days before the new year, Iranians clean their homes,
make new. clothes, bake pastries and germinate seeds as a sign
of renewal. -

A ceremonial cloth, or sofreh, is set up in cach household.
On this “cloth of seven dishes” are laid the baft-sinn, seven

Photo courtesy Waat Vancouver Museum and Archives

aetne

3,

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

items — each beginning with the Persian letter sis and each
having a special meaning:

@ seer (garlic) represents medicine;

@ serkeh (vinegar) represents age and patience;

BB samanoo (juice of germinating wheat or malt mixed with
flour) is life’s abundance;

@ sech (apple) is for health and beauty;

@ senjed (oleaster) is for love;

Time Traveller May Day Parade 1946

HAPPY children board a West Vancouver Fire Department truck for a group shot at a May Day parade held in
Dundarave 50 years ago. The times have changed but boys and trucks remain an enduring love affair.

Spring Spirit Fair held for youth

WHEN the North Vancouver
Recreation Commission offered
a former carpentry shop at its
Lonsdale facility as a youth
drop-in centre, the challenge of
turning it into a “cool” place
for youth to hang out began.

With the walls whitewashed, a new
carpet and some donated furniture the
place is beginning to take shape. But it
still lacks the essential ingredients to
make ita fun and welcoming place for

youth — sound and sports equipment,
games, activities, things to do.

The North Vancouver Youth
Coalition, made up of representatives
from the City of North Vancouver,
North Shore Neighbourhood House,
the North Vancouver Recreation
Commission and Sutherland Bible
Chapel approached Capilano Mall to
help with a fund raising event, With the
mall’s support, the Spring Spirit Fair
came to life.

The Spring Spirit Fair for youth will
take place at Capilano Mall during

spring break, on Friday, Saturday. and
Sunday March 21, 22 and 23 during the
mall's regular opening hours. The imall
will be a of displays and booths of
interest to youth,

Funds for the new youth centre will
be raised through the sale of North
Shore Spirit T-shirts, sponsored by the
North Shore Credit Union, available for
sale during the Spring Spirit Fair

Drop in to Capilano Mall, have fun,
buy a T-shirt and help the youth of
North Vancouver equip their new cen-
tre.

IN the days before Nowruz, troubadours dis-
guise themselves with makeup and dress in
bright satin. These haji firuz, as they are
calted, parade through the streets, spreading
good cheer and the news of the coming new
year. This one entertained at North Shore
Multicultural Society’s celebrations.

B sabseh (grass) represents rebirth, and

W@ somag (sumac berries) represent the color of sun-
rise.

Also laid out on the sofrel are other items and sym-
bols, including sekkeh (coins) to safeguard income; a
basket of painted eggs representing fertility and a
flask of rose water Known for its magical cleansing
power.

After greeting Nowruz at the precise hour, family
members shake hands, exchange kisses and presents,
then phone or visit friends, neighbors and relatives.
In Iran, Nowruz is the only national holiday that
remains to this day, said Dashti. Schools are closed
for 13 days following the new year. Banks and
national institutions are closed for between five and
10 days, he said.

On the 13th day, which is called Sizdah-Bedar,
everyone must feave the home and travel to a park
or public place to enjoy nature. :

Since 1984, much of the North Shore’s Iranian population
has gone to Peace Arch Park, where 10,000 to 12,000 cele-
brants gather to picnic and play football and soccer.

Sizdah-Bedar is a “good time to see each other, come
together and make resolutions to forgive everything that has
happened in the past,” said Dashti, adding that overall,
Nowruz is “a time to start anew.”

Over 200 Paintings by Local Artists!

of sale!
Art Show *

, a
Silent Auction
Sunday, March 23/97
Noon - 4 pm

West VANCOUVER COMMUNITY CENTRE
780 - 22ND St.,-‘West VANCOUVER, B.C.

A great opportunity to view the work of
focal artists and to bid on some of your favourites.

e Free admission

© Door prizes
ortitis,

For more information
call 985-1608 or 926-8728

All Ice-cream
dessert
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soe, 3 sizes

Also available
Bunny shaped
Cake &

Ice-cream logs