On the occasion of the Nowrouz Festival, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Mahmoud Farazandeh, and his wife, Mojgan, invited the "Embassies and Residences" group to the embassy in Dahlem in the afternoon of 19 March 2022. Nowrouz means New  Day and is the Old Persian New Year and Spring Festival, which marks the beginning of the year 1401. Mojgan and her daughter introduced the Nowrouz customs to the WiB members. Haft Sin (Seer, Serkeh, Senjed, Sekkeh, Sonbol, Sabzeh, Samanu) represents the most important 7 components of the Persian table Sofreh, which are served in the circle of family and friends.

Each of the seven food elements symbolizes Zoroastrian virtues: health, patience, blessing, prosperity, cheerfulness, fertility and courage. These are the wishes for the new year. The mirror on the table representes the self-reflections of the old year, a living goldfish (Mahi) in the water is the symbol of new life, the painted eggs mean fertility, and a hyacinth barrel represents the spring. The holy book Qur’an was laid in the middle of the table. The WiB members were intrigued by the short films about the modern Iran and the cultural-historical sites from the Persian Empire that dates back to antiquity. Traditional music added a happy ambience to the special event.

A delicious buffet of Iranian delicacies preluded the sociable gathering. It was a great pleasure to be together with the WiB members after 2 years of corona break, exchange thoughts and share the home news! Thank you very much to our wonderful hosts!