We Celebrated Chaharshanbe Soori Together!

On Tuesday evening, 17 March, our Farsi department brought spring to Indebt (just around the corner of our Taalhuis) with Chaharshanbe Soori, the Persian Festival of Fire, and what an evening it was.

Chaharshanbe Soori marks the final Tuesday of the Persian calendar year, a tradition observed by Persian, Azeri, and Kurdish communities across Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and beyond.

But this isn’t just about marking time; it’s about transformation. By jumping over flames, we symbolically release the “zardi” (yellow) – sickness, sorrow, and the hardships of the past year – and welcome the “sorkhi” (red) – the warmth, health, and energy of the fire.

Our teacher Dorna prepared cards with the traditional saying, and together we practiced the Persian words:

“Zardi-ye man az to, Sorkhi-ye to az man”

“My yellow to you, your red to me”

She also introduced us to other Chaharshanbe Soori traditions: fal-goosh (eavesdropping to catch words that might reveal your fortune for the coming year) and ghashog-zani (banging spoons on pots to drive away bad luck). The Iranian participants in the room jumped in with their own memories and regional variations, turning the evening into a true exchange, not a lecture, but a conversation.

People from different parts of the world came together with the Iranian community, and the atmosphere was warm, curious, and full of laughter. These are the moments that remind us why Taalhuis Amsterdam exists: language is a doorway, and culture is what we share when we step through it together.

Thank you to everyone who joined us. Here’s to spring, to new beginnings, and to many more evenings like this.