Persian New Year Festival Lights City

It was a sequence repeated hundreds of times throughout the evening: A small child reached the front of the line, eyed the three burning logs on the street in front of him and bounded over each one with wide eyes and a smile.

According to Persian New Year custom, those who jump over the fire express their wish to trade their "yellowness," or negative energy, for the fire's "redness," or vigor.

For many of the about 1,000 participants, these traditional bonfires proved to be the highlight of last night's Downtown Berkeley celebration, which marked Chahar Shanbeh Soori, the last Tuesday evening of the old year.

The celebration, which took place in front of the Persian Center at 2029 Durant Ave., consisted of traditional new year festivities, including dancing to upbeat Persian songs, such as a techno version of Iran's national anthem.

The event has been an annual occurrence since the center acquired the public Victorian property five years ago.

Inside the building, visitors observed a traditional "haft seen table"-a collection of seven symbolic items that included lentils, apples, garlic and silver coins. Each object's name begins with the Farsi letter "seen" which makes the sound of an "s."

Celebrants seeking a break from the party outside sat around the edges of the center's first-floor rooms, enjoying catered dishes like kabob with rice.

For many, like San Jose resident Elizabeth Soraya Moayeri (Zadeh), the event has become a routine part of the new year season. This year, she brought her daughter and her daughter's two cousins to the event.

"It's good for the kids to see the tradition," she said.

When the vernal equinox signals the official start of the new year, 1384, early Sunday morning, Moayeri's husband will say a prayer as the family gathers around the table.

"It's fun, but we have to get up at 3:30 in the morning," said Arazue, her daughter.

Near the end of the festival, the crowd welcomed a quick visit from Mayor Tom Bates, who wished a happy New Year to throngs of cheers and applause.

UC Berkeley students also played a role in the event. Senior Hoda Fahimi, co-president of the Iranian Student Alliance in America, tabled on Sproul Plaza earlier during the day and promoted the group at the event.

"It's a way to bring Iranians of all ages together," she said.

Many members of the crowd echoed the sentiment. Tanya Holeman, a Fremont resident, said her favorite part of the celebration was getting to see family members.

The Persian Center will be hosting a celebration for Persian New Year, Norouz, on Sunday.

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