A first for RI's State House: Honoring Norooz, Persian New Year

If you happened to stop by the State House on Wednesday, you would have seen massive Irish and Italian flags flanking the Senate rostrum, in honor of two of Rhode Island's largest ethnic groups.

But March isn't just the month of St. Patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day. It's also the month of Norooz, also known as Persian New Year. So, this week, a traditional haftsin table also appeared in the State House — for the first time ever.

"It’s a way to build community and come together," said Maryam Attarpour of the Iranian-American Cultural Society of Rhode Island, who played a major role in making it happen.

Haftsin tables are the symbol of the Persian New Year, which occurs on the spring solstice. They typically display at least seven different items whose names start with the letter "S" in Farsi, including garlic, an apple, sumac, and a dish of vinegar.

A bowl of goldfish was also once considered customary, but putting live animals on display is frowned upon today. The State House haftsin, which is located on the second floor overlooking the atrium, gets around that by incorporating a candle with a goldfish design.

Most of the items come from Attarpour's personal collection. She said that she was excited to give people an opportunity to learn about her favorite Iranian holiday.

Attarpour came to Rhode Island when she was 3, and grew up in Pawtucket and Providence. Back then, Rhode Island's Iranian community was so small that taking part in cultural gatherings required driving to Boston.

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"For the longest period in my life, I didn’t really have much connection to my Iranian culture," she said.

When she got to URI, she discovered that there were actually quite a few students from Iran on campus, and petitioned to create the university's Iranian cultural alliance.

Attarpour, who now works for the United Way of Rhode Island, said that State House staff were "really, really receptive to the idea" when she proposed having a haftsin table on display for Norooz. (Although House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is Iranian, the Iranian-American Cultural Society didn't coordinate directly with him, she said.)

During the time that it took her to set up on Wednesday, several people stopped to ask about the haftsin table, Attarpour said.

"The curiosity is there, which is great," she said.

The Iranian-American Cultural Society is also hosting a Norooz potluck celebration on Saturday at the International House of Rhode Island, which is located on the East Side of Providence. As of Wednesday afternoon, free tickets were still available for the 10am to 12pm time slot.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Norooz or Persian New Year honored at RI State House with haftsin table