We're Suckers....

Last night we celebrated the Persian New Year with Pete and Hediyeh Coombs, who are in our ward. Hediyeh is originally from Iran and celebrated the Persian New Year with her family all growing up. The Coomb's were nice enough to share their family traditions with us and their other friends as they hosted their very own Persian New Year Party. If you don't know very much about the Persian New Year, let me share with you the things I learned:

1. The Iranian people celebrate the New Year at the spring equinox, the first day of Spring, which usually occurs on March 21st. I love this concept because with the coming of spring, it is a new birth and a new beginning. Very sentimental for starting a new year and getting a brand new start.

2. In Iran the New Year is a really big deal, much like Christmas in the United States. Everyone gets 3 weeks off from work and gives each other presents ushering in the new year.

3. Hediyeh had a table set with 7 very important New Year items that all started with the letter "S" in the Persian alphabet. I can't remember all the items but here are the ones I DO remember: sprouts, fish, apples, and vinegar. They were all elegantly displayed in and on traditional Persian dishes and fabrics. There was also a beautiful mirror on the table. Hediyeh told me that it is a tradition that when you get married you receive a very beautiful mirror from your family as a gift. She had her "marriage mirror" on display and it was very beautiful.

4. There are specific Persian dishes that you eat on New Years. I do not know what they were called or know what was in them, but the meals did include some beans, rice, grape leaves and other yummy stuff. Hediyeh's mom was nice enough to make it all and leave it for Hediyeh to warm up for us to eat. I am not a cook by any means and don't even know how to cook American food, so don't be offended that I do not know what was in these dishes.

5. Hediyeh also had her guests play a New Years game that involved prizes. This of course was my favorite part. The object of the game was to open up an envelope that had been stuck into the scriptures (in Iran they would use the Koran, but Hediyeh used the Bible and Book of Mormon). Inside the envelope is a prize, such as a paper reading what you would receive or even money. The prizes of the night included apples, gold fish, dollar bills, etc. After you opened up your envelope you chose one verse to read out loud that was on one of the pages the envelope was stuck between. That verse is your fortune for that coming year.

I loved this New Years game so much! I want to implement it into my own family's New Year traditions.

When I played the game my prize was a dollar! WHAT! WHAT! However, when we found out that Pete and Hediyeh were planning on killing the fish, they couldn't get rid of, by starvation, we knew we couldn't let that happen. So Pat and I ended up rescuing 5 gold fish from starvation because having 5 dead gold fish on your conscience is no way to start a new year. What can I say...we're suckers.

It was a great party; however, I don't think the night went entirely as planned. Unfortunately, the Persian New Year happened to fall on a BYU basketball game. BYU hasn't done this well since 1981 (so I am told) thanks to Jimmer. So when Hediyeh saw all the boys huddled in a corner trying to watch the game on someone's iphone, she relented and turned on the game for everyone to enjoy. Not quite a traditional Persian New Year activity, I am sure, but the boys were happy.

Thanks Coomb's for a fun and educational night. I made some good New Year resolutions and I hope to keep them this time.