In fact, it would be expected in most traditions.
What is so unique about the seder plate, that separates it from, say, a version of the Hindu thali below?
Posted on 03/20/2010 12:32:43 PM PDT by sionnsar
I doubt it. This holiday goes back to the times of the Indo-Aryans. Well into the millennial BC’s.
No, this is a pre-Islamic holiday.
She looks nice, but I still beg to differ on my nomenclature. I was born and partly raised in Iran, so that makes me an Iranian American. Still I am just as American as the Irish Americans and Italian Americans though the majority of them are “legacy” Americans and my family and I had to work hard and dream and pray a lot to become one — VERY VERY LEGALLY!
Hey, I’m not offended, I just gave some info. Unlike a lot of coutries, Persia did not have its entire culture obliterated by the invading Muslim Arabs.
A Jewish friend of mine who had an Iranian girlfriend says so.
The story of Esther to place in Shushan (aka Susa), Persia. Her husband, the king of Persia identified as Xerxes I(aka Ahasuerus) converted later to Judaism according to the rabbis. I am sure this king had an influence on the people he ruled with Jewish traditions he might have celebrated.
i also get confused with all the hyphenated American affiliations. i mean, i am a german/english/french/indian (American type again) American.
at the end of the day, i am just a mutt. an American mutt. :)
The equivalent of Noruz is celebrated in India, too. It’s the new year event (around Spring) in the Indo-Aryan traditions, which goes back centuries before any Jewish contact.
Encyclopaedia-Britannica actually mentions the influence in the opposite direction, that the Jewish Purim is an offshoot of Noruz.
Then where did the seder plate come from that they use? India?
Spring is sprung, fall is fell...
In fact, it would be expected in most traditions.
What is so unique about the seder plate, that separates it from, say, a version of the Hindu thali below?
When Jews left Israel they did make it India and even as far as China. There is some speculation they even made it as far as Japan.
Perhaps. But this plate-offering you speak of, and the spring / new year festival, are older than any of those events.
FYI - VERY PRE-ISLAMIC Mullahs have tried to suppress it being celebrated. Should tell you something.
This basically Zoroastrian religious festival of “renewal” arriving in Spring, has three main tenets in its religion:
Think good thoughts (pendaar-e neek), speak good words (goftaar-e neek) and do good deeds (kerdaar-e neek).
While “worshipping” Light (goodness), this religion has a good force of light and an equal evil force of darkness, which like Yin and Yang follow each other in a constant struggle personified by night and day.
There are various customs which have originated with this, including the last Wednesday of the year (Chaharshanbe Souri) where small bonfires are made of dried bushes similar to our Tumbleweed and Persians traditionally jump over a string of these and chant to the fires:
“May my redness (good health) be derived from you into me and your yellowness (poor health or situation) from me (pulled out of me into your flames)”
The Mullahs have banned this custom as pure superstition (as opposed to the string of these in Islam) but Persians flouted the ban and there were clashes between celebrants and Mullah Suppression forces all across the country. Videos of theser are hard to distinguish as cell phones do not make good video cameras at night.
A couple of better such videos can be seen at:
http://farsiposts.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post_18.html
Then on the 13th day after Nowrouz, Persian families leave home and go into the countryside for mass picnics.
There unmarried girls tie knots in blades of grass to ask for a suitor to come their way.
Prior to NowRuz families also symbolically sprout wheat in dishes and take these out on the picnics and try to find running water into which they throw these.
Some say to get rid of life’s evil this way but as probably to “seed” the banks and distant reaches of the river with wheat that can then spread far aned wide and grow into food sources.
http://noiri.blogspot.com/2010/03/happy-now-rouz-persian-new-year-1st-day.html
Happy, Happy!
Post of the day award!!!
It’s possible that the Jews picked it up from them.
the “oh noes,” or the sahar one? :)
How many years ago was the first Passover?
She has nice luggage...
Norooz mobarak !
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