NAROOZ 2011 PRESENTATION, PASADENA
(a little bit of what I heard..partly verbatim)
Shally zomorodi..persian new years..since 2007 ..grown..2009.or 10 ?.declard a new pasadena tradition ..this year..march 21..421pm ..who speaks farsi ....who knows how to say happy new year..in farsi ..
Lloyd miller: ..helped him ...used to go to iraq afghanistan..every 3 months..get visa..rough trip.thru beirut to turkey..back to iraq..syrian truck drivers..they took off..dust... followed thru sand for two hours..went on road to baghdad..didn't like americans..but sometimes nice..teahouse..hand u an instrument..prayer beads ...elf shoes ..nobody can beat the afghans..they're tough..why we are in a fight w/ them I don't know..got enough going on in our backyards ..
..they would stick knives in mouth..hook to electricity..why? to prove how tough..then crushed a lightbulb & swallowed it..Poetry..music..persian..music..
Katherine st. John: spring cleaning...literally called shakin the house..fravashis...zoroastrian..tehran..10 days b/f narooz..set out flowers..vases to honor the dead..reminds the living to carry on the good works they started..keeping green or alive the memory of the dead..persepolis..maybe uve seen these friezes before..often they r connected w/ narooz. But also the..that precede narooz..focus on visible raher than invisible guests..favorite dishes mahi , sabzi polo, ..kuku-ye sabzi, ..edible evidence earth moving into new phase of growth after lying dormant..
Here in south cal ...we don't exp dramatic seasonal changes ..altho this year...anticipation.. table..almonds,,chickpeas cookies..ancient legend..sugar discovered at first narooz..he kept jamsheed..king jamshheed..perfume, natural cure for ilness..when finished, put aside all unpleasantness..perfect time of harmony & unity recreate at eqinox..
Also painted eggs tokue murg..seed of a chicken..tokme murg ? ..ancient cosmological..shell of an egg..may symbolize the whole universe..solar equinox..see egg moving on mirror..mirror represent sun..progress towards transformation... renewal begins ..mirror ayinch on the haft sin..mirror..outer form..my son 12 yrs sppsed to use it to clean his braces..later to shave..also self reflection..shake up..also abt shaking up self..stock of one's life in relation w/ others..story of..jamsheeds throne lifted by demons..began to blv nobody greater than him, incl god..the begin of the end..mirror to reflect on danger of self-satisf..after death..personif ..
A soul meets the personif of its thoughts words and deeds as a beautiful woman...but if bad thoughts..met with distorted wman...many dorian grey oscar wilde built story on it..lesson that all we think... does have repurcussions
Did o bazdid..seen ..seen again, exchange of visits..offering receiving hospitality..requires efforts on both sides..personal growth, community unity..abbrev blessing..tongarosti..health. well-being..
