Nowruz Cards

As an Iranian who lives in the United States, I can never find Nowruz cards in stores.

Nowruz is the Iranian New Year, the day of the vernal equinox. It marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendar.

I soon realized that if I wanted to be able to mail Nowruz cards to my friends and family, I need to start making them myself. I thought about what to put on the cards and decided to have each item of the Haft-sin table on each card.

We celebrate Nowruz by putting up a Haft-sin table and gathering around it as a family while we wait for the exact moment of the March equinox to say “Happy New Year!” or as we say in Farsi, “Sale No Mobarak!”.

Traditionally, the Haft-sin (seven foods beginning with the letter sin (س)) are: sabze (wheat, barley, or lentil sprouts grown in a dish), samanu (sweet pudding made from wheat germ), Persian olive, vinegar, apple, garlic and sumac.

The Haft-sin table may also include a mirror, candles, painted eggs, goldfish, hyacinth and other fresh flowers.

You can see some of these items on my cards. I sometimes paint them using water color, or sometimes sew them out of felt. The important thing is they make someone happy and bring them the smell of Nowruz at their home!

Christmas Cards

As an Iranian who lives in the United States, I have started to build feelings for Christmas as well. I look forward to that time of year when everywhere is filled with light and music. Therefore, I have also started to make my own Christmas cards for friends and family.