OUR PERSIAN LIFE
A little bit of Persia.
A lot of family.
Food, poetry, music, family, celebrations and the Persian traditions that somehow find their way into our everyday life.
Persian culture isn’t something we put away in a cupboard.
I married into Persian culture years ago and somewhere along the way it became part of my own life too, a world that insists on colour, poetry and enough food to feed the neighbours as well.
This part of Saffron & Cyrus is where I explore the Persian side of our family life, from the big celebrations to the food, music and little traditions that become part of everyday family life.
Some of these traditions are ancient. Some have been adapted because we live in the UK. And some are things we do because they connect H to where he comes from and help Cyrus understand where part of him comes from too.
WHY IT MATTERS
Culture lives in the ordinary stuff.
It is in the food on the table, the music playing in the kitchen, the words that slip into conversation, the way a family celebrates, the stories we tell our children and the people we remember.
For us, Persian culture isn’t a museum piece or something reserved for Nowruz. It is part of ordinary family life. And as Cyrus grows up British and Persian, I’ve become increasingly interested in the small ways culture gets passed on, adapted and sometimes reinvented along the way.
This page is my way of documenting some of it.
CELEBRATIONS & TRADITIONS
The occasions that bring us together.
01 · NOWRUZ
Persian New Year
Nowruz marks the Persian New Year and the arrival of spring. It is one of the most important celebrations in Persian culture, filled with renewal, family, food and tradition.
Explore the stories
02 · SHAB-E YALDA
The longest night of the year
Shab-e Yalda is a celebration of light, family, poetry and getting through the longest night of the year, preferably with enough fruit and nuts to make you question whether dinner is still necessary.
Explore the stories
03 · CHAHARSHANBE SURI
Fire, jumping and the run-up to Nowruz
A Persian fire festival held just before Nowruz, Chaharshanbe Suri is one of those traditions that manages to be deeply symbolic and rather good fun.
Explore the story
04 · SIZDAH BEDAR
A Persian spring picnic
Sizdah Bedar brings the Nowruz celebrations outdoors, traditionally marking the thirteenth day of the Persian New Year with family, food and time in nature.
Explore the stories
PERSIAN FOOD & FAMILY
Food is memory with a recipe attached.
Persian food is woven through our family life, from comforting stews and rice dishes to sweets, tea and the recipes that carry memories, places and people with them.
FROM THE KITCHEN
IDENTITY, LANGUAGE & MUSIC
Culture doesn’t only turn up for special occasions.
It is in the Persian music playing while we’re cooking, the words and terms of endearment that cross between languages, the friendships we build and the small things that tell Cyrus something about the two cultures he belongs to.
Culture isn’t separate from daily life. It lives in what we cook, what we celebrate, what we remember and what we pass on.
COME AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND
There is always something cooking.
If you celebrate these traditions too, or you’re discovering Persian culture for the first time, have a wander through the stories. This isn’t intended to be a definitive guide to Persian culture. It’s one family’s version of it, and I’ll keep adding to it as our family life evolves.
And if you arrive mainly for the food, I completely understand.