Hundreds of Iranian citizens living in Indonesia have already assembled their Haft Sin, a traditional tabletop arrangement of seven items to celebrate the Persian new year called Nowruz, which falls on Wednesday.

Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Valiollah Mohammadi Nasrabadi said Iranian expatriots celebrate their national holiday the same way they would celebrate it in their home country.

“Any Iranian brothers and sisters here have set the Haft Sin in their homes and they do it just like they do it in Iran,” he said in his Jakarta residence on Monday.

The names of the seven items on the Haft Sin table all begin with the Persian letter seen (s) and each item represents a different hope for the new year. Four of the items are sabzeh (sprout or grass), symbolizing rebirth and renewal, senjed (dried fruit) symbolizing love, sib (apples) symbolizing beauty and health and seer (garlic) symbolizing medicine and taking care of oneself.

In 2010, Nowruz was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a spring festival of Iranian origin that has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years. It has become a public holiday of several other countries including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Nasrabadi said Nowruz was the biggest national holiday in Iran, celebrated over five working days. Many people extend their holidays up to two weeks, during which they visit friends and family, as well as travel out of town to tourist spots or religious sites.

“On the night before Nowruz, families will sit around the table, to recite the Quran, read a book or pray,” Nasrabadi said. “As this is the time of the change of year, we must adjust for some goodness and luck in the future.”

He said people in Iran celebrate Nowruz the way Idul Fitri is celebrated in Indonesia, by visiting relatives and friends. “People will wear new clothing, especially children,” he said. “They will also get money and gifts.”

He said he had many childhood memories of the celebration being a happy time filled with talking and laughing, as well as eating a lot of sweets and chocolate. On the 13th day of the new year, Iranians leave their houses to go into nature and picnic outdoors as part of the Sizdebedar ceremony.

Many also go abroad for the holiday. “At least 1,000 people will be coming to Bali for two weeks,” he said, adding that European countries and Central Asia were also favorite destinations.

Nasrabadi said for the last two years he has taken his family and colleagues to Puncak, West Java. “This year we are lucky because Sizdebedar falls on Monday so there will be no traffic. Last year, it was on Sunday,” he said.

As a tradition dating back millennia, he said Nowruz goes beyond religion: “We have Christian people in Iran and also Jewish, Muslim and Zoroastrian, but all of them celebrate Nowruz.”

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