The haftsin wreath workshop was a resounding success!
Adventures in Cross-Cultural Crafting
We did it! We held the first ever nowruz نوروز haftsin هفت سین wreath حلقه workshop! This is a dream come true. Back in 1394 (aka 2016) I made my first haftsin wreath. [What is “haftsin?”]
This year, 1396 going on 7, a bunch of us got together and let the creativity flow. A big thank you to wonderful friends who came together and had fun! sepAs gozAram! با سپاس
Boldly, with no wreath making experience, we leaped to action! OK, we did have a few youtube videos and such to guide us. Here are photos documenting the process:
- #haftsinWreath Images on Google
- Images on Facebook (please like and share!)
- And on Instagram!
And below are some of the finished wreaths.
I’m hoping this will catch on.
Why?
…for fun and cultural expansion!
Wreath workshops are fun! You get to spend time with cool people being creative, catching up on life. How does this compare with the traditional haftsin sofreh (table setting)? You wouldn’t have a sofreh workshop, because that you set up in your own house. But you can get together and make wreaths, and then take them home. It’s social.
And it lends itself to social expansion; affirming outreach! It’s a way to wear our culture on our doors and introduce it to the wider world. You may have heard that things are polarized these days. Tribalism is on the rise in a bad way. There are people out there trying to set those tribes against each other, trying to make differences seem alien and bad.
A cross-cultural wreath is a simple way to make one culture legible to another, show the similarities, enjoy the differences. Softly touch the strangers mind. Bond over wreaths. qofl-shekan time.
Let your culture shine forth wherever you are! Let it leap off the table and out into the streets, door by door until it even leaps onto non Persian doors! It could happen.
This brings us to the controversy.
Because there’s always controversy. That’s part of any tradition! And the wrestling of tribalism.
haftsinWreaths are not for the xenophobish
“Xenophobish” and not “xenophobic” because “ic” is harsh. “Ish” gives you room for ambiguity.
There are some Americans, who may feel alarmed by creeping#haftsinWreaths. (Which is nothing. Just wait until we get chArshanbe suri permits in every town! creeping, no, #Leaping! Nowruz!)
And there are also some Persians for whom the wreath is an unwelcome thing. While many say, “hezAr Afarin!” — there’s always that one stern and rigid guardian of culture who says: “Please do not mix our custom with that of other culture. We do not need wreath. Show your creativity with sofreh.” (Actual quote)
No #creepingAmericanism” in our haftsin, harumph!
This concern brings up two important points:
First: It’s not a zero sum game. You can make a wreath AND have a sofreh TOO!
Why choose? Why not have it all! The sofreh gives you the space to put it all “on the table” so to speak. To get super elaborate. So many ways to lay out the sofre haftsin.
In contrast, the wreath is a more abbreviated, external option. There’s no way you’ll be able to fit everything you want on the wreath. And the wreath, by virtue of being smaller than a table top, will more likely have just a splash of haftsin on it, an accessory to your sofreh that you hang on the door. A “haftsin to go” — spilling culture into the wider world where it will be more often seen and more likely to be adopted.
The wreaths, round, are like links in a cross-cultural chain. Would be cool to see a zillion wreaths photographically linked; chain-mail protecting culture and democracy and society.
Second: Customs are adaptable and extensible
Haftsin “seems to have come into vogue only in the last century, owing to publicity in the media,” according to Columbia University’s extensive entry in its Encyclopedia Iranica.
“The essential objects of the Nowruz table are very ancient and meaningful (cf. Christensen, p. 158; Massé, Croyances, p. 156), while the idea of the haft sin is recent and the result of popular fancy tastefully developed into a pleasant ritual.” http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/haft-sin
Let’s hear that again:
…the idea of the haft sin is recent and the result of popular fancy tastefully developed into a pleasant ritual.
See! Popular fancy gets turned into pleasant rituals all the time. Join us in making this a pleasant ritual to add to the sofreh. The core objects are are ancient and persistent. Your presentation can vary with the times.
As Rumi says, “You are the joy, we are all the types of laughter.”
Ultimately, culture is a creative, living thing.
And when you drop some culture from one pot into another pot— it grows.
Like yogurt — mAst — ماست !
And now we’re back to the xenophobish folks feeling uneasy. Culture, like yogurt/mAst/ماست turning the milk around it into more mAst! Who’s the milk in this scenario? Yikes! Assimilation anxiety alert! Who is assimilating whom? Is anyone really being assimilated? Aren’t we all just multi-layered beings?
Dude, relax! Wow, it’s just a wreath. Also, you may want to check out my philosophy on being Iranian+American, and how cool it is to trade in your hyphen for a plus sign! Works for all hyphenated peoples! Try it and see!
And now to get ready for the fire jumping. Another Persian culture ready to leap off into the world! chArshanbe suri rocks!
See you on the other side of the flames.
Bonus: Links to help you run a haftsin wreath workshop
Our workshop was oriented toward DIY wreaths, upcycling and repurposing things you have lying around the house. One of these days we want to do a fancy floral wreath workshop, for which we need to gather somaq and senjed throughout the year, when they are in season. Next workshop!
In the meantime, here are links to inspire you as you design your haft sin wreath:
- How to make a wreath out of anything.
- 2+ minute video on how to make a burlap wreath with wire frame.
- A neat technique using pipecleaner and cutting multiple burlap things down to size.
- This video uses the same ribbon technique, and also attaches a large metal frog with pipecleaners, and then uses a glue gun to stick on the butterflies. Do you have a glue gun?
- This video uses a foam wreath base, and she just sticks the flowers through (after trying with wreath pins and wire & failing).
- Bonus tutorial here: https://youtu.be/AZqtJjo5bZk
- and this super cute hat and purse wreath!
So many ways to make a haft sin wreath, so little time! When you make a wreath, please let us know! Post a link to it in the comments.
Happy victorious nowruz to you!
نوروزتان پیروز — هر روزتان نوروز
