Hello everyone,as you know these days we're getting ready for our new year and "Norouz", so I wanted to share our happiness and excitement with you and count days and then celebrate it together........yayToday I found an interesting site which shows the exact time of our new year/the things we use in our "haft seen" and by clicking on each item you'll see a short definition of each item....hope you like it

http://7seen.com/

Che bahal !!! That's like having two New Year's celebrations and that is so GREAT as it's a joyful time that I like very much!



hmmm I count 18 items, that makes one item each day to learn, and the last week to ask you with their Persian name if they're ready

>>> J - 25 <<<

Yesssssssssss..happiness is the thing that everyone can enjoy it and share it with othersThat's a good idea to learn a word each dayThey are already ready and waiting for you

Really? Everything is ready yet? Oh that's great ^^

Today's word is Seeb = سیب = Apple

yeah,this year since we're not gonna be at home and will be away the whole holiday, we prepared a very small "7seen"But it's so cute....I'm gonna put some pictures of it when it gets ready completely
Ah good word,it's also good for your health"an apple a day keeps the doctor away"

I'd enjoy very much seeing pictures of 7seen Yesss fruits are healthy ^^ Do you have a similar proverb in Persian? Or one with the word Seeb?

Today's word: Fish = ماهی = Mahi

What do you traditionally eat for the meal of 7Seen?

Hmmmmm we don't have the exact proverb but right now I remembered a proverb with the word "seeb" in it it sasys "يک سيب را که به هوا بياندازي تا پايين بيايد هزار چرخ مي خورد."=yek sib ro ke be hava bendazi ta payin biyad hezarta charkh mikhore...
It means "when you throw an apple in the air it turns 1000 times until it comes to the ground....
This proverb is used when someone is disappointed and you wanna comfort him/her so you say this proverb to tell him/her that nothing is gonna stay the same,everything is gonna change and you don't know what may happen to you in the future,so don't be too depressed!!!

Well our traditional meal for the first day of "Norouz" is called "Sabzi polo ba mahi"=سبزی پلو با ماهی which means vegetable rice with fish.....Unfortunately I don't like fish very much, so it's not my favorite meal but the majority of people love it
http://shirinpolo.ir/img/photos/SabziPolo-MAhi.jpg
http://res2ran.com/upload/food/food_635.jpg
http://www.mamipic.com/image-F843_5061BC1D.jpg

Now that you're learning the word "fish" let me tell you some proverbs about fish

1-Mahi ro har vaght az ab begiri tazast= ماهی رو هر وقت از آب بگیری تازست
literally it means,when you catch a fish from water, it is always fresh>>>the main meaning is that " it's never too late to start a new thing!"

2-Az abe gelalood mahi gereftan=از آب گل آود ماهی گرفتن >>>catching fish from a dirty water
which means when there is a messy situation,you try to take advantage of it, and It's not a good thing to do!!
for example when a country is in a bad situation or there is war in it, some people like thieves , az abe gelalood mahi migiran!(= which means because there is no security,they steal,make a mess and etc..)

Oh nice pictures! Such a rice seems so yummy!

Thank you for these precious proverbs my friend, I'm gonna write them all so I don't forget them! از آب گل آود ماهی گرفتن is similar to a Russian proverb that I learned saying "to catch fish from a muddy water" French one is "pêcher en eau trouble" (to fish in murky water).
"Mahi ro har vaght az ab begiri tazast" is very interesting, I don't see any equivalent idioms now. ^^

Today's word: mmh a flower, Hyacinth = شنبل = Sonbol

Yes, most of Iranian dishes are served with riceRussian proverb???Che jaleb=چه جالب (how interesting!)
Oh we have the French version of this proverb ,too? c'est vraiment bon
There is no proverb about "sonbol"....it's just a beautiful flower

Time for a new word : Mirror = آینه = Ayne

Does Norouz last one day? Two days? More? How is the atmosphere before Norouz?

I checket the site and found out that the spelling of "mirror" in Persian is wrong!!! it is "آینه" and the proninciation is "Ayne*
Norouz last 14 days actually,but you know, the first day everyone is so exited but in the next days or next week usually people visit their relatives or go on a trip!So the first day is the most important day of Norouz, that on this day family members get together, eat "sabzi polo ba mahi", and give gifts (we call it "eydi=عیدی") to children...though I'm not a child anymore but my dad gives me and my sister and my mom "eydi" which is so sweet............before Norouz, like a month before norooz everyone is busy with cleaning the whole house...they cleas everything, wash the carpets,curtains, clean the walls,windows, actually everything so they start the new year with a nice clean houseAll this cleaning process is called "Khoone takooni" which means "to shake the whole house"!!!But because you clean everywhere it's like you're shaking it to remove the dust and dirt!!"khonne takooni" is almost one of my nightmares cause it's a hard work,really!but when you see the result you forget the difficult parts and you'll be very pleasedAnyway I like this tradition, and it 's necessary to clean your house completely after a year, specially in polluted TehranBy the way these days Tehran is not polluted anymore,It's totally clean and I can feel the spring is coming!!!!!!!!

There is another tradition before Norouz which is a bit dangerous and scary called "Charshanbe soori"=چهارشنبه سوری
I must confess that I haven't gone out on this day ,yet cause I'm not brave enough and I'm afraid to get hurt just before norouz so I don't wanna ruin my whole holiday!Or maybe I'm too coward!!!But I enjoy the noises from outside
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaharshanbe_Suri
http://baaraan.files.wordpress.com/2...ri-tehran3.jpg
http://baaraan.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/14125235.jpg
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/e3d/...579bc7ab69.jpg

Oops thanks for verifying, i've corrected it in my post Oooh the "eydi" tradition is so niiice I've learn so much new things I didn't know about Norouz, thank youuuuu for sharing this, it's really great! So good luck for khoone takooni! I hope the coming wind of spring is helping you to clean a bit too and remove this year's dust Thanksss for the explanation about Charshanbe soori, once again it's all new to me and i'm glad i can discover it And wooooooow this tradition has more than 3700 years old?!? How impressive!! Indeed it's a bit scary to jump over bone fires, it's full of adrenaline ^^ The last picture's exposure gives such a beautiful effect but i wouldn't stand near!!

Today's word: Wheat Paste = سمنو = Samanoo

Believe it or not, we haven't start "khoone takooni" seriously so my mom is kinda worriedI try to comfort her by saying"C'mon it's not a big deal,we'll do it later"You're welcome dear, yeah this tradition is very old but I'm glad we could keep it until nowyeah, I prefer to see the pictures,Once I remember I went shopping with my mom and because we were busy with shopping and everything we forgot that that night was "charshanbe soori", when the sun went down, the noises and smokes rose up and we were just running from a corner to another to save our livesThere are something called "cigarrete",
http://bombombom.persiangig.com/image/13.jpg
They are very small but when you throw them in fire or if you just strike it like when you strike a match, after some seconds it bursts with a loud sound and gives you a mini heart attack....most of boys who are really mean(!) throw a cigarret near a girl to laugh at her when she screams..hehehehthis happened for me several times

Awwww "samanoo" is very yummy, there is no sugar in it but it's so sweet...it's also very healthy and full of vitamin B,
http://img.tebyan.net/big/1382/12/18...6429169223.jpg
wow look at this one : it's hugeeeeeeeee>>http://womenhc.com/media/blogs/186/samanoo3.jpg

Hehe the later you'll do "khoone takooni", the shorter it will take

Oh noooo how dare they do such a thing?!? I'm sorry I laughed but the way you tell this story is so funny ^^

Samanoo tastes sweet? I'd surely like it then Oh this is samanoo too in this huge cooking ...pot? That makes a lot of vitamins So samanoo is usually home-made?

Next word's related to Samanoo: Wheat sproud = سبزه = Sabzeh

Hahahaha,"the later you'll do "khoone takooni", the shorter it will take" this is an amazing quote that I'm gonna keep saying it everyday
Hahahahah yeah at that situation though I freaked out but I was laughing too cause I felt that I was like an idiot to scream and runaway because of a small cigarett
It's sweet but it's a bit thick and you can't eat very much, I mean when you eat a little you feel that "Oh that's enough I can't eat more""
Hahahaha yessssss vitamin for a whole countryyyyyyyyy
Oh there is an interesting tradition about "sabze" which we do on the last day of Noroz...I'm gonna explain it for you tomorrow...Now it's time to go to bed

oK I'm here again
the last day of Norouz is really popular and it's called "sizdah be dar"...sizdah is 13 and as you know it's not a lucky number!!!
check this out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sizdah_Be-dar
The most importing thing that girls do on this day is knotting of the grass :
http://www.ipersian.org/uploads/1/1/...01382_orig.jpg
It represents love and the bond between a man and a woman, so unmarried girls who wanna get married do such a thing hoping to get married till the next year!!!I've done it every year but don't now why NOthing happens to me!!!!!!!!!
Anyway I love 13bedar cause everyone is happy and it's like that the whole country go to picnic at the same time, and on the same day...

ooooooh funny tradition Oh nothing happened? Maybe if you double the knot... So 13bedar is like National Picnic Day I now understand why is Iran renowned for its magnificent gardens it's for everyone having a piece green grass on 13bedar yeah it must be awesome to see everyone out for one day Che jaleb reading about it, kheyli mamnoon

Okay now, some lights: Candles and Candelabras = شمع و شمعدان = Sham o Shamdan

Double the knot??LOL....yeah maybe...I try it this year exactly,that's the best word to describe it"National Picnic day"
Khahesh mikonam, khoshhalam ke barat jaleb bood!(=I'm glad it was interesting for you)
Oh شمع is pronounced like this "Sham", "sham o shamdan" is also used in wedding and it's really important and every girl must buy it for her wedding and after wedding she takes it to her home