Promoting a Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience

The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of humankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.” Moreover, article 1 of the Declaration states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

The task of the United Nations to save future generations from the scourge of war requires transformation towards a culture of peace, which consists of values, attitudes and behaviours that reflect and inspire social interaction and sharing based on the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, all human rights, tolerance and solidarity, that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation and that guarantee the full exercise of all rights and the means to participate fully in the development process of their society.

Conscious of the need for the creation of conditions of stability and well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, the General Assembly declared 5 April the International Day of Conscience.

The General Assembly invited all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as the private sector and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to build the Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience in accordance with the culture and other appropriate circumstances or customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through quality education and public awareness-raising activities, thereby fostering sustainable development.

https://www.un.org/en/observances/conscience-day

History

The inaugural International Day of Conscience was first commemorated in 2020 by the United Nations General Assembly. This annual observance was established to encourage people around the world to introspect, follow their conscience, and do what is right.

WEST POMERANIA, POLAND—According to a Science in Poland report, a medieval belt hook for hanging keys or a purse has been unearthed in northwestern Poland by a metal detectorist. Archaeologist Grzegorz Kurka of the Kamień Land History Museum said that similar rare belt hooks have been found in Hungary, Austria, and Germany. This one is in the shape of a person with his hands resting on his hips and elbows out, creating two holes. A hole for another hanging item was placed at the bottom of the figure. A face and clothing are engraved in the metal.

In general, it is understood that people of all countries cherish their cultural heritage and demonstrate the best of their culture and heritage to others. It is clear that the cultural values of any period of history are measured based on the existence of those known values as well as the preservation and remembrance of those values and heritage. There have been few cultures that have preserved and have been able to perpetually advance their cultural traditions well beyond their own borders and celebrate it with the rest of the people of the world.

One of these cultures is our “beautiful and secular Iranian culture”;

A culture that respects wisdom and praises kindness,

A culture that has no preference or religious, ethnic, racial, sexual and gender discrimination,

A culture that avoids violence and sadness and loves peace and happiness,

A culture with over thousands of New Year’s celebration which has now transcended across borders and countries around the globe with its beautiful and stunning rituals and ceremonies,

And a culture that even under the suppression of one of the most violent and tyrannical religious governments and its cruel practices, has not reduced its value and credibility; rather, it has shown its significance and pride.

On the eve of our beautiful Nowruz, we hear the same familiar call which has been uttered by cultures and peoples all over the world and now being repeated by people of Iran: “We want a healthy and free life in a free country that celebrates Nowruz and can no longer tolerate the death of freedom loving people.”

Happy Nowruz and Iranian New year

Shokooh Mirzadegi

www.savepasargad.com

Nowruz marks the first day of spring, or Equinox, and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous or following day, depending on where it is observed. The moment the sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families gather together to observe the rituals.

Nowruz has been celebrated by people from diverse ethnic communities and religious backgrounds for thousands of years. It is a secular holiday that is enjoyed by people of several different faiths. It originated in Persia in one of the capitals of the Achaemenid empire in Persis (Fars) in Iran and is also celebrated by cultural regions that came under Iranian influence or which had migrations by Persians including Azerbaijan, the North Caucasus, Kurdish inhabited regions of eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and other scattered populations in Central and South Asia.

The term Nowruz first appeared in writing in historical Persian records in the 2^nd century CE, but it was also an important day during the time of the Achaemenids (c. 550–330 BCE), where kings from different nations under the Persian Empire would bring gifts to the Emperor, also called the King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Persia, on Nowruz. The significance of Nowruz in the Achaemenid Empire was such that the great Persian king Cambyses II’s appointment as the king of Babylon was legitimized only after his participation in the New Year festival.

The UN’s General Assembly has recognized the International Day of Nowruz, describing it as a spring festival of Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years. During the meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the United Nations, held 2009, Nowruz was registered on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Haft-Seen, also spelled as Haft Sīn (Persian: هفت‌سین‎‎, the seven seen’s), is a tabletop (sofreh) arrangement of seven symbolic items traditionally displayed at Nowruz. The haft-seen table includes seven items all starting with the letter Seen (letter s, fa, س) in the Persian alphabet.

The Haft-Seen table items include:

• Sabzeh (سبزه) – wheat, barley, mung bean, or lentil sprouts growing in a dish, symbolizing rebirth
• Samanu (سمنو) – sweet pudding made from wheat germ, symbolizing affluence
• Senjed (سنجد) – dried oleaster, a wild olive fruit, symbolizing love
• Seer (سیر) – garlic, symbolizing medicine and health
• Seeb (سیب) – apple, symbolizing beauty
• Somāq (سماق) – sumac fruit, symbolizing the color of the sunrise
• Serkeh (سرکه) – vinegar, symbolizing old age and patience

The following items may also appear on the Haft-Seen table as ornaments or for the sake of completeness. Although some of these items are Persian symbols, they are not a main part of the traditional Haft-Seen.

• A holy book
• Divan-e Hafez, a Persian poetry book
• a mirror
• a goldfish in a bowl, symbolizing life
• a brazier of fire
• a lamp
• cypress or pine
• pomegranates
• painted eggs
• coins, symbolizing wealth
• candles
• a bowl of water
• wheat or bread

All of us at WCHV.org Wishing you a Happy Chahar Shanbeh Souri!

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The year, to be named for “Anahita, the Iranian goddess.”

Pasargad Heritage Foundation chooses and suggests a name for the upcoming year, as per annual tradition, on the eve of the biggest and most important Eid and celebration for Iranians.

This choice, as always, has been within the framework of the preservation and protection of cultural and historical heritage and for our national and global treasures. The legacies that remain at times in the shadows due to neglect and ignorance, and which can be, like in the past few decades, in danger of destruction due to cultural discrimination and anti-Iranism.

One of these legacies has been the personalities or myths and symbols that have had an important impact on the history of our land and human societies, due to their exceptionality in the scientific, literary, and cultural fields, and which can be included in the National Heritage List or UNESCO’s Memory of the World as well.

Accordingly, the Pasargad Heritage Foundation, on the eve of this solar year 1403, calls the new year the year of “Anahita, the Iranian Goddess,” so as to familiarize Iranians with this mythical symbol, and to raise awareness among friends of Iran and the world of intentional and unintentional destruction. In recent years, the fire temples and other temples of Anahita have attracted much attention.

Anahita is a female deity, known in Iranian and by non-Iranian myths as a woman who symbolizes power, purity, and guardianship of rain and waters. The goddess has been a symbol of a brilliant cultural period in the history of Iran. She is a lady praised by both the god of wisdom Ahura Mazda, by Zoroaster, the great sage, and by the people of Iran, men and women, who were in such a position that even the female deity was approachable to them.

In this way, by naming the Iranian year 1403 as that of Anahita, the Pasargad Heritage Foundation calls for the help of all friends of culture so that we can prevent the continued destruction of Anahita’s temples by utilizing international laws for the preservation of historical monuments.

Let us start our Iranian New Year, the beautiful global Nowruz, and the coming year with the name of a woman, a solar symbol for a large part of our culture and history, and a divine symbol that commanded the waters to cleanse the ugliness and pollution from our land.

A Happy Nowruz and Iranian New Year to everyone.