{"id":550342,"date":"2026-03-21T03:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T03:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/550342\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T03:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T03:13:08","slug":"at-ottawas-cafe-tehran-nowruz-celebrations-are-weighed-down-by-war-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/550342\/","title":{"rendered":"At Ottawa\u2019s Cafe Tehran, Nowruz celebrations are weighed down by war in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Saman Rezaeifar, chef and owner of Cafe Tehran in Ottawa, hands his daughter Hanna, 4, a $20 bill as they celebrate Nowruz on Friday.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The table has been set at Cafe Tehran in downtown Ottawa, well before 10:46 a.m., the precise time when the earth\u2019s orbit brings the sun directly over the celestial equator, and one year on the Persian calendar gives way to the next. <\/p>\n

Following tradition on Nowruz, an ancient festival to celebrate spring\u2019s arrival and the new year, the Haft-sin table has been arranged with seven items representing specific blessings. Fresh garlic brings protection. Senjed, a dried fruit, promises love and wisdom. Apples for vitality and vinegar for patience. <\/p>\n

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Mr. Rezaeifar and his wife left their families behind two years ago to come to Canada.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Potted separately, there is a yet-to-bloom Hyacinthe and bright green sprouts called sabzeh, both symbols of growth and rebirth. The latter was planted by the restaurant\u2019s owner and chef, Saman Rezaeifar, although, he says, \u201cThe grandmothers always grow it best.\u201d <\/p>\n

And then there is the spice jar of sumac, which represents the sunrise and good winning over evil, a blessing most on the mind of the Iranians gathered for Nowruz on Friday morning to bring in the New Year. <\/p>\n

It should be a celebration. But, of course, it is not. They afraid for their families back in Iran<\/a>, where bombs are falling. The year ahead is uncertain. <\/p>\n

And there is an extra item on the table, placed by Sara Taghavi Nejad Deylami, 27, who does marketing for the restaurant: A framed montage of faces \u2013 some of the Iranians killed by police in the January anti-government protests. They didn\u2019t know them, says Ms. Deylami, but it doesn\u2019t matter. \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s your family member that you lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all of them Nowruz is a day connected to happy childhood memories: their mothers fiercely tasking them with chores to spring clean the house, travelling to parties with family and friends over 13 days, plates laden with sweets, and on the last day, going to out into nature, and planting sabzeh from their Haft-sin table in the earth. <\/p>\n

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Displayed on the Haft-sin table are the faces of Iranians killed by police in protests earlier this year.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

But this year, Mr. Rezaeifar has tears in his eyes. \u201cI will be thinking of the ones who are gone,\u201d says Mr. Rezaeifar, speaking in Persian with Ms. Deylami translating. In January, his best friend of 20 years, Mahdi Banaeyan, was shot at and killed at close range during the protest. Mr. Rezaeifar shows a picture on his phone: the two men, grinning and wearing the same green T-shirt, worn for one of their parties where Mr. Banaeyan was first to get everyone dancing. Across the bottom, Mr. Rezaeifar has written, \u201cI wish I was courageous like you.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Mr. Rezaeifar shows a photo of himself alongside his best friend, Mahdi Banaeyan, who was killed in January at a protest.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Mr. Rezaeifar and his wife, Alaleh Hozeifi, left their families behind two years ago to come to Canada, wanting a better life for their two daughters. Back in Iran, their eldest, Raha, 10, would now be required to wear a hijab. Today, she is wearing a Care Bears T-shirt and jeans \u2013 it\u2019s tradition, during Nowruz to wear a new outfit \u2013 and translating expertly for her parents between English and Persian. Her four-year-old sister, Hanna, has chosen a pink princess dress for the day. <\/p>\n

About a dozen people, restaurant staff and their families gather near the table as the New Year approaches. A TV by the bar has been turned to Iran International, a Persian news channel, which is showing clips from the past months: heart-rending images of protestors and police and explosions. The room is silent afterward.<\/p>\n

No one counts down, or cheers when the time arrives. \u201cEide Shoma Mobarak,\u201d they say to each other, exchanging hugs. Mr. Rezaeifar, who is the oldest, hands each person a crisp $20 bill \u2013 a gift, called Eidi, meant to bring good fortune.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vibe is not the same,\u201d says Hesam Garmeh, Cafe Tehran\u2019s line cook, while skewering squares of seasoned beef. Mr. Garmeh arrived in Canada two years ago; an engineer in Iran, he is studying to become an electrician in Canada.<\/p>\n

His phone rings, suddenly, a call from Iran, likely his parents, but when he picks up, no one is there. He returns to the skewers. He can only wait because his calls will not get through. <\/p>\n

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Hesam Garmeh came to Canada two years ago and is studying to become an electrician.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Usually on Nowruz, Ms. Deylami would video call her family, so she can be a part of the gathering. But the internet in Iran has been down for weeks. Now, a phone call only lasts minutes. \u201cSometime we are just 10 times asking each other like how are you?\u201d Ms. Deylami says. No one speaks freely, for fear who might be listening.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the Haft Sin table, they have placed a gold-embossed book of poems by Hafez, the beloved Iranian poet who lived during his own time of conflict and tyrannical rule in 14th-century Shiraz, a city now being bombed in the war. Poems by Hafez are often read during Nowruz; Iranian also seek their fortunes by flipping the book open randomly and reading the poem they find. <\/p>\n

In Persian, Mr. Garmeh recites these lines from memory: \u201cThanks be to God that by good fortune, at the edge of the flower\/the arrogance of the winter wind and the glory of the thorn have come to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mr. Rezaeifar flips through a book of poems by Hafez.Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

The words celebrate spring\u2019s arrival and the end of winter, he says. But like all Hafez\u2019s poetry, they speak to a longing for beauty to succeed over injustice. As a boy, Mr. Garmeh says he knew that when his father recited these words, it was a wish for the regime to fall, and for Iran to be free. <\/p>\n

When asked whether freedom will result from this current war, which began when U.S.-Israeli strikes hit Iran on Feb. 28, Mr. Rezaeifar says change must be led by the people, not the foreign government. Ms. Deylami worries what will be left for the people if the country is destroyed by bombs. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt may take time,\u201d Mr. Garmeh says, but people don\u2019t have guns, so they must wait until the regime is weak to seize control.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an old story, for a day meant to be about new beginnings. But then Hanna skips over with a red balloon, asking Mr. Garmeh to pop it with a skewer; she giggles when it bursts. And for a minute, the sombre mood lifts, and the adults smile, thankful for 4-year-olds who know only spring, and not the heavy-hearted winter. \u201cI am laughing now.\u201d Mr. Garmeh says after. \u201cBut we are all crying everyday.\u201d <\/p>\n

Soon, the restaurant will be filled. Mr. Rezaeifar has already cooked the rice and prepared the salmon for the traditional Nowruz meal. The skewers are ready. Last year, there was a DJ and dancing, but not tonight. This Nowruz is for remembering, and hoping. <\/p>\n

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Keito Newman\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Saman Rezaeifar, chef and owner of Cafe Tehran in Ottawa, hands his daughter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,149836,20739],"class_list":{"0":"post-550342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ottawa","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-lc-h","11":"tag-ottawa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/550343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}