The haft-sin table is prepared for a Nowruz reception at the White House. The table contains seven items that begin with the letter “sin,” and symbolize life, health and renewal. The holiday has its roots in Zoroastrianism and celebrates rebirth and renewal that accompany spring and the new year, which begins on the vernal equinox. March 20, 2023. Photo: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto/AP
[Episcopal News Service] Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is Iran’s largest holiday and a symbol of cultural pride for Iranians worldwide. It marks the arrival of spring and symbolizes the rebirth of nature and of hope.
That message holds especially true this year for members of Grace Community Episcopal Church, a church plant of the Diocese of Dallas in Plano, Texas, that’s believed to be the only Farsi-speaking Episcopal congregation in the U.S. This year, Nowruz began March 20, 20 days after the United States and Israel launched a series of attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, and nearly three months after deadly protests erupted in Iran over the country’s worsening economic crisis. Even though most members have had little to no communication with their loved ones in Iran in recent weeks, and the death toll continues to rise, they still have reasons to celebrate the new year and maintain hope.
Nowruz began the moment of the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox today at 10:46 a.m. Eastern – the year 1405 on the Solar Hijri calendar. Grace Community, which is housed inside the Church of the Holy Nativity in Plano, will celebrate the new year on March 22 after Sunday worship.
The Rev. Samira Izadi Page, vicar of Grace Community and rector of the Church of the Holy Nativity in Plano, is a native of Shiraz, Iran. She told Episcopal News Service that Iranians have been experiencing a “mixture of different feelings” in recent weeks.
“We’ve been mourning the massacre that’s happening inside Iran, but also many people are happy now that this war is happening because there is renewed hope for regime change. It sounds strange, but that’s the reality,” said Page, who also is the founder and executive director of Gateway of Grace, a Dallas-based refugee assistance ministry. “Preparation for Nowruz these days [has been] based on these different, opposite feelings.”
The economic protests in Iran were the largest reported uprising since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, which replaced Iran’s monarchy with a Shiite Muslim theocracy – the Islamic Republic. An estimated 3,000 to over 30,000 protesters have reportedly been killed by the government’s security forces since December 2025, according to multiple conflicting reports.
The ongoing armed conflict has increased that death toll. So far, more than 1,300 Iranians have reportedly been killed, including dozens of schoolchildren and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had led the country since 1989.
As supreme leader, Khamenei enforced strict policies, including mandatory hijab laws and laws enforcing gender-based discrimination in inheritance, marriage and divorce. Disobeying those laws is punishable by imprisonment or death. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has succeeded him as supreme leader and is expected to enforce the same policies.
News of Ali Khamenei’s death on Feb. 28 have led to celebrations and protests worldwide. For Iranian Christians, Page said, the temptation to celebrate conflicts with Jesus’ teachings.
“When Khamenei was killed, the next day, on Sunday, many people at church wanted to have a party and dance,” Page said. “But as Christians, we have to consider that God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked.”
As a priest, the word “paradox” has been on Page’s mind lately. She will explore how the concept relates to the conflicting feelings in the context of John 11:1-45, the death of Lazarus, the Gospel of the fifth Sunday in Lent, during her March 22 sermon.
Earlier this week, Page began collaborating with other Episcopal leaders of Southwest Asian and North African descent and the Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, missioner for The Episcopal Church’s Asiamerica Ministries. Lagman told ENS that she hopes these regular meetings will strengthen the church’s support for Southwest Asian and North African Episcopalians, including Persians as uncertainty over armed conflict and hopes for regime change in Iran linger.
“We need to learn how we can support these communities and individuals within their diocesan and cultural contexts,” Lagman said.
Members of Grace Community Episcopal Church, a Farsi-speaking church plant of the Diocese of Dallas in Plano, Texas, set up a half-sin table in preparation for Nowruz festivities in 2025. Nowruz is the Persian new year. Most Grace Community congregants are Iranian. Photo: Samira Izadi Page
Grace Community’s congregation, which has about 90 members, is deep into preparations for the post-worship Nowruz celebration. Following tradition, the congregation began festivities on the last Tuesday of the year – March 17 this year – with the Chaharshanbe Suri fire festival. About 50 members jumped over a bonfire three times while chanting “zardi-ye man az toh, sorkhi-ye toh az man” – “my yellow is yours, your red is mine,” meaning jumpers are giving their yellow pallor from winter, illness and problems to the fire in exchange for the fire’s energy and warmth.
“It was very fun and significant, especially for the kids, who are staying connected with these good traditions,” Page said. “We haven’t had any conversation with the kids about what’s going on in Iran, but we can see that there’s some confusion and they’re carrying the anxiety of their parents, who are constantly reading the news on their phones and trying to get ahold of their families over there. They’ll understand someday.”
For Sunday, volunteers set up a haft-sin – Farsi for “seven Ss” – a table adorned with seven symbolic objects that begin with the letter س – S in Farsi:
Sabzeh – green sprouts, representing rebirth
Samanu – sweet, germinated wheat pudding, representing bravery, power and strength
Seeb – apples, representing beauty
Seer – garlic, representing health and medicine
Senjed – dried oleaster fruit, representing love
Serkeh – vinegar, representing old age and patience
Somāq – sumac, representing sunrise
Other added objects that start with the letter “sin” – pronounced “seen” – include “saat” (clock), representing time, “sekkeh” (coins), representing wealth and prosperity, and “sonbol” (hyacinth), representing spring’s arrival. Common half-sin objects that don’t start with the letter “sin” include a mirror for self-reflection, candles for enlightenment, goldfish for progress, and a “book of wisdom,” such as a holy book, the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi or the Divān of Hafez. Hand-painted eggs, symbolizing fertility and new life, are also included on half-sin spreads and may have inspired Easter’s egg decorating tradition.
Volunteers also will prepare traditional Nowruz dishes, such as sabzi polo ba mahi (herbed rice with fish), ash-e-reshteh (noodle soup) and kuku sabzi (herbed frittata), for Sunday.
Dallas Bishop Robert Price, following the tradition set by his predecessor, the Rt. Rev. George Sumner, who retired on Jan. 1, gave a recorded Nowruz blessing to Grace Community:
“I hope that this new year will bring many blessings to each and every one of you and your families, even as we remember the sufferings of the people of Iran,” Price said. “We pray that peace would prevail and that the will of the people would be respected in any outcome. And we pray that God will make Iran new as well.”
A member of Grace Community from Iran, Yash, whose last name is withheld at her request for safety reasons, told ENS that she’s been reflecting and praying while volunteering for Nowruz preparations. She said she thinks celebrating together as a community will be “good for everyone.
“It will also be good because it will be another opportunity for us to pray for the future of Iran and the Iranian people,” Yash said. “Personally, I feel like the darkness is going to be eliminated from my country and a light will begin to shine over Iran soon. I keep praying for it.”