Navruz holiday - at the U.S. embassy

On Friday (while I was teaching), Lee went to the U.S. embassy for a program for their staff (who otherwise might not get out into Tajik culture very much). They had some nice performances by the Padida Dance Troup...

 ...and by the Karnaychi-Doyrachi Boys' Ensemble:

More by Padida:

They also had an example of a "haft seen" table, or table with "seven S's" in front of the 2017 Celebrating 25 Years of Tajik and U.S. Friendship sign:

Traditionally, these items are: "sabza" wheat sprouts grown in a dish, "sumanak" carmelized germinated wheat pudding, "senjed" dried fruit from wild olives, "sir" garlic, "seb" apples, "somak" sumac berries, and "sirko" vinegar. But people now apparently add others S's like "shakar" sugar, "sambusa" meat pies or "shirini" candies. (If you're familiar with Persian or Iranian language, you might notice some differences in Tajik pronunciation. Nowruz = Navruz, samanu = sumalak, etc.)